Fans hail Rosie O'Donnell's 'natural' motherly instincts after she shares throwback pic with daughter Dakota
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In a recent Instagram post, Rosie O'Donnell took a journey down memory lane by sharing a snapshot of herself smiling as she stood for the camera with a newborn Dakota. "8 years ago today #dakota," Rosie captioned the image, which at the time of writing had over 4,000 likes. In January, Rosie made headlines for missing the moving tribute to the late Barbara Walters.
Fans hailed O'Donnell, who lost her mother to cancer, for her natural ability of being mother without actually birthing a child. A user wrote, "You're the best mum," and another saying, "Adorable. You're such a natural mother." A third said, "Thank you for sharing your beautiful family with us," while a fourth said, "It's a joy to watch her grow up."
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O'Donnel, who dated Aimee Hauer until 2022, bagged plenty of good comments since the post. For some followers, it seemed as if Dakota had grown up in the blink of an eye. "Wow. "Kids grow SO quickly," one person wrote, while another shared, "My youngest baby is ten." "Time flies by so quickly." O'Donnel announced the birth of her daughter Dakota on Twitter, writing, "We are thrilled to announce the arrival of r daughter Dakota - #withloveandthanks - AMEN (sic)."
In 2022, the comedian revealed the moment she discovered Dakota is autistic. Although O'Donnell stated that she believed her daughter was autistic since she would not respond when her name was mentioned, she nevertheless felt "punched in the stomach." She added, "I had to give myself a moment to go, 'Okay, we're going to figure out how to get through it.' For me — it's like an angel fell into my life... I'm not taking away from the pain and hardship that this diagnosis brings to families... It's not easy — but it's necessary to let them know they are seen."
Rosie O'Donnell's family of five
Dakota is only one of O'Donnell's children she had from her marriage to her second wife, Michelle Rounds. The mother of five, became a mother for the first time when she adopted Parker in 1995. A few years later, Rosie adopted her second child, Chelsea. However, the comedian's relationship with her oldest daughter has not always been harmonious.
Rosie O'Donnell's family expanded once again as she and her then-partner adopted their second son, Blake Christopher. Rosie's second daughter, Vivienne Rose, is the second youngest member of the O'Donnell family. However, between teenage drama, public spats and custody battles, it hasn't always been an easy ride for the star.
"My teenagers are a nightmare, they're horrible," she joked in 2016 in an interview with People. O'Donnel went on to add, "I had four teenagers when I decided to adopt a newborn baby. You might ask why. Because I had four teenagers and I needed to remind myself that I actually do love children."
