Rosie O’Donnell and Michelle Rounds have enjoyed a whirlwind courtship after meeting at a Manhattan Starbucks in August 2011. They are now officially engaged.
The OWN network talk show host shared a Twitter image of Rounds sporting a gorgeous sparkler hours after telling her Chicago-based Harpo Studio audience about her new status. The revelation came during a commercial break while the Monday show was being taped. The twitpic that followed was tagged, “so so so happy.”
Talking about their chance meeting this past summer, Rosie joked during one of her standup routines in October that her “gaydar was way off” the day that she and Michelle struck up a conversation. The comedian thought Rounds was 28 and heterosexual, and it turns out she was a gay woman and 40.
O’Donnell wed Kelli Carpenter in 2004 and co-parented three adopted children: Parker, Chelsea and Blake. During their union a fourth child, Vivienne, was born to Kelli, who conceived via artificial insemination. They split in 2007 though that information wasn’t disclosed until the end of 2009.
Rosie then partnered with Tracy Kachtick-Anders, a Texas artist. They never officially lived under one roof but were within close proximity until February 2011. Tracy’s large family of children became very close to the O’Donnell kids, making the break-up “very complicated” according to her rep, because the couple’s offspring had forged a strong bond and continued to spend time together until Rosie headed off to Chicago.
Check out a close-up pic of the sparkler that Rosie just uploaded to her Twitter page:
Photos: WENN, Twitter-Rosie O’Donnell