O'donnell: 'Lesbians Stay Connected After Divorce'

ROSIE O'DONNELL's 'divorce' from longtime partner KELLI CARPENTER was smooth and drama-free because neither partner wanted to fight and lose touch with each other.

The A League of Their Own star insists women can always find a way to split graciously because they always want what's best for everyone involved.

O'Donnell split from Carpenter in 2008 and it was over a year before news of the break-up hit the headlines - and the former chat show host puts that down to the fact both she and her ex wanted to work it all out amicably.

She says, "We tried very hard to make it work in different configurations... It's not really the same paradigm as heterosexual divorce. It's different.

"I'm not trying to say it's (lesbian divorce) better... Women usually, in relationships, that emotional connection is really the most intense, and so when they break up, I have found, they stay connected.

"Every woman I've ever been with, besides one, is still in my life."

Appearing on America's Oprah show on Monday (25Jan10), O'Donnell revealed she split from Carpenter because the two were drifting apart.

She says, "What you want and need at 30, which is when I met Kelli... is very different to what you want and need at 40 and 45, and in some ways we both came back to our authentic selves and who were were... wasn't as great of a match."