Drew Barrymore is the celebrity we’ve never deserved. Her candour and undeniably wholesome spirit has seen her become one of the most relatable Hollywood stars we’ve ever seen, and when it comes to her dating life, she’s nothing if not honest.
After splitting with Will Kopelman in 2016, the past six years have been a rollercoaster ride for Drew. Navigating the world as a single mother of two daughters and re-entering the dating game at a time where social media and online apps have taken over, there’s a lot of moving parts to manage.
Still, the beloved actress hasn’t given up on love and is making the most of her singledom. Below, everything Drew Barrymore has said about dating.
Her last intimate relationship
Penning a personal letter on her blog, Drew Barrymore Blog, the actress opened up about the lessons she’s learned around intimacy throughout her lifetime, but particularly becoming a since mother of two.
“At nearly 48 I have very different feelings about intimacy than I did growing up,” she wrote.
As a younger woman, Barrymore revealed that she “was looking for companionship, validation, excitement, pleasure, hedonism, fun and adventure”, which she thought could be found through intimacy. Now, however, she has learned that “sex is not love! It is the expression of love”.
“After two kids and a separation from their father that has made me cautious, I have had the pleasure of shifting my focus when it comes to love for myself and my two daughters,” she explained. “I know that does not include a man nor has it for a while. “I’m not a person who needs sex and has to go out there and engage with people on that level.”
Getting back on the apps
While appearing on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in September 2020, Barrymore revealed whether or not she’d spotted some fellow celebrities on dating apps.
“Oh yes, I did. I mean, it’s not really fun to not say who they were but a lot of them. It was like looking through an Us Weekly,” she said with a laugh.
She went on to reveal that she’s found online dating to be difficult, admitting that while on them, she approached dating “terribly.”
“I got stood up, and I didn’t match with anyone. And my friends gave me this sort of bloated sense of false confidence. They were like, ‘You should try it. You will do great.’ It was a car wreck,” she said.
“But, you know, I love being able to be in the conversation, I have to say. Like, I definitely had fun with it. And I’ve always wanted to go on a blind date, but my life got in the way of that, so I thought, like, online dating might satiate that desire. And no, it was a real wake-up call. But it was fun, and yes, there were lots of exciting people.”
Her ideal quality
While speaking on The Late Late Show With James Corden in February 2021, Barrymore explained how her love of Bridgerton had impacted her views on dating.
“It was this weird relenting to the fact that I’m probably not going to meet someone in some old-fashioned way,” she said. “I’m not really aggressively looking, but watching this old-fashioned show was weirdly this keyhole entry point for me to accept the modern world because I am so old-fashioned.”
As for what she’s looking for in a partner, the actress said that being funny was one of the biggest boxes they need to tick.
“I just want to laugh. That’s always been my big criteria — funny, funny, funny. I love humor, it’s my survival guide. And I can’t get rid of my sense of humor. I laugh at everything, I love laughing. So, funny is my favorite quality in any person.”
On dating with kids
“I don’t know how to date with kids,” the actress told Bobby Berk during an episode of The Drew Barrymore Show in January 2022.
“I’m not there yet. I have two young girls, and I don’t want to bring people home. I think that it would take me a very long time to meet someone and get to know them before I could ever even introduce them to my daughters.”
On getting remarried
During an interview with Gayle King in January 2022, Barrymore explained how her opinion of marriage had changed after divorcing Will Kopelman after four years.
“I would maybe live with someone again. Maybe. But there’s no way I will ever, ever, ever be married again. Nope. There’s no reason to be,” she said.
On flirting with strangers
Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in February 2022, Drew spoke again about her desire meet someone naturally, in real life. She then shared a hilarious anecdote which saw her approaching a stranger in Central Park and attempting to flirt.
“We got to talking, and we had such a good laugh and such a lovely talk, and then I was like, ‘Oooo, I think I forgot to ask you a very important question. How old are you?’ And he was like, ’28,’ and I was like, ‘Ahhh! Oh no, oh no! I don’t mean this rudely. You look so much older.'”
Unfortunately, the age gap proved to be a deal breaker for Barrymore, but even though it didn’t work out, she’s still proud of putting herself out there (and as it turns out, so is the stranger).
“We had a great conversation, and we didn’t bother with the obligatory, ‘Let’s exchange numbers.’ And I just said, ‘Great. I gotta tell you, I just wanted to do something that I could make myself proud today.’ And he goes, ‘I’m proud of you,'” she said. “And we walked away and it was a positive experience. I want to do it again.”
On getting ghosted
For anyone who’s ever felt bad about getting ghosted, it may provide comfort to learn that the Drew Barrymore has been a victim of ghosting, too.
“I got so ghosted that I just literally … by this man who you just wouldn’t think that they would behave like that,” Barrymore told Entertainment Tonight in September 2022.
“It’s nobody anyone knows. He’s a professional and 52 years old and has a job. You just think, ‘Oh, this is a responsible human being. Why would you behave like that?’ … I definitely think we’ve gotten into such a bizarre world where people just drop off.”
On her dating app profile picture
While appearing on CBS Mornings, Barrymore asked all three hosts for their input on her dating app profile picture. In authentic Drew fashion, her photo of choice was a makeup free, lowkey selfie (and we’re obsessed).
“That’s not a bad picture,” Gayle King said.
“Look, I’m an unfrozen caveman when it comes to dating, I don’t understand modern dating, I’ve been married for a million years,” Dokoupil said. “But if I saw that picture I would 100 percent [swipe] whatever the direction is.”
“I would swipe right!!” Burleson added. “I’m thunder swiping right.”
“Oh, yay!” Drew said. “That means so much to me!”
We’re not crying, you’re crying.
