Drew Barrymore tearfully explains she doesn’t ‘know how’ to date as a single mother

Drew Barrymore has spoken candidly about dating as a single mother, with the actor tearfully explaining that she doesn’t “know how to date with kids”.

The 50 First Dates star, 46, who shares daughters Olive, nine, and Frankie, seven, with ex-husband Will Kopelman, shared her concerns while speaking with Queer Eye star Bobby Berk.

In a clip of the conversation, which was shared on CBS Mornings on Wednesday before it airs in full on The Drew Barrymore Show on Thursday, Barrymore told Berk that she doesn’t think she’s fully ready to date, or introduce a potential partner to her daughters.

“I don’t know how to date with kids,” Barrymore said as she teared up. “I’m not there yet. I have two young girls and, like, I don’t want to bring people home.”

According to Barrymore, it would take her a “very long time” before she felt comfortable introducing someone to her children.

“I think it would take me a very long time to meet someone and get to know them before I could even ever introduce them to my daughters,” she said.

In response to Barrymore’s admission, Berk assured the actor that she is likely not the only parent who feels that way, and that she shouldn’t put pressure on herself for not knowing how to navigate the experience.

“I don’t think anybody knows how to do anything, right? So, don’t put pressure on yourself because you don’t know how to do it,” the Queer Eye star said. “I think going into it, saying to yourself: ‘I don’t know how to do it,’ is the first step of figuring out how to do it.”

Berk also reminded Barrymore that she is a “good mom” because she is concerned with how dating will affect her children.

While reflecting on the emotional conversation with Gayle King, Barrymore explained that she’s never shared her fears about dating with children aloud because she hadn’t been aware of her feelings until then.

The Charlie’s Angels star also noted how her experience has differed from her ex-husband’s, as he has since gotten remarried.

“My kids’ dad is happily remarried with the most wonderful woman in the world, Ali - my children have this extraordinary stepmom - and our processes have been different, and their side of the street is so functional and whole and happening. And I think I’ve been on the sidelines in a beautiful, honouring purgatory,” she said.

Barrymore then revealed that she has been single for six years, and that it is partly because she hasn’t known how to date as a mother.

“I’ve been saying: ‘It’s me. It’s my choice. I’m not ready. I want to wait.’ I don’t think I’ve said out loud that it’s really because of, I have these two daughters,” she said, before adding that she now goes on the “occasional” dates but that it took her four years to do so.

While Barrymore has been stepping out of her comfort zone, she told the CBS Mornings hosts that the pandemic hasn’t made dating easy, as she doesn’t like Zoom dates and finds them “unromantic”.

According to the actor, having to rely on a video platform for a date is also a reminder of the “state of the world we’re living in”.

As for what Barrymore is looking for in a partner, she told the hosts that she wants someone who “isn’t interested in marriage or kids”. She also revealed that she doesn’t bring her children up on a first date, as she thinks “we probably have to get to know each other first”. However, she did note that she would “love to know right out of the gate if kids were a non-negotiable for them” as it would be “helpful”.

“But I don’t talk about them because I’m so protective of them that it makes me feel vulnerable to discuss them. I have to know you a little bit better and have some trust in order to even discuss them,” she explained.

While speaking with the hosts, King then asked Barrymore, who has been married three times, to clarify whether she is open to getting married again, to which the actor said: “Oh god, never!”

“There’s no reason to be,” Barrymore said, adding: “I would maybe live with someone again, maybe, but I’ve had kids and there’s no way, I will never, ever, ever, get married again.”

Barrymore and Kopelman married in 2012 before divorcing in 2016. The actor was also married to Jeremy Thomas from 1994 to 1995 and Tom Green from 2001 to 2002.