Molly McNearney, wife of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, has opened up about the strain her husband's feud with Donald Trump has placed on her relationships with family members. In an episode of the We Can Do Hard Things podcast, the executive producer admitted that dealing with her conservative, Trump-supporting relatives has been 'challenging.'
'It hurts me so much because of the personal relationship I now have where my husband is out there fighting this man,' she said. 'And to me, them voting for Trump is them not voting for my husband and me and our family.' She revealed that she has 'lost relationships with people in my family because of it.'
McNearney expressed frustration with the current state of the Republican Party, saying, 'This is not just Republican versus Democrat for me anymore. It is, to me, it's family values and it's really hard for me because I grew up believing in these Christian ideals of taking care of the sick and taking care of the poor and I don't see that happening with this Republican party.'
She added that she feels 'in constant conflict' and is 'angry all the time,' personalising every negative news story by blaming relatives who voted for Trump. During the same podcast, Kimmel discussed the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! in September, stating that while he faced the possibility of the show not returning, he wanted to end it 'on my terms.'
'If I'd not been allowed back on the air, I'd be a martyr,' he said. 'It's not a terrible position to be in as a comedian, [but] it's not the position I wanted to be in. And it's also not the way I wanted the show.' He noted that he and McNearney had extensive discussions about how to handle a potential permanent shutdown, preferring a graceful farewell with staff rather than an abrupt end.
