Rosie O'Donnell Opens Up About Her Decision to Leave 'The View' (Video)

"I don't want to talk about it on The View, but we're talking about it right here for you," the actress says of her decision to leave the talk show

Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty

After purposefully avoiding the subject on air, Rosie O’Donnell is setting the record straight on her decision to leave The View in a video posted to her website.

In the candid confessional titled “A Heartfelt View – on we Grow,” the actress, 52, confirms that she’s leaving the talk show to focus on her health and family.

“There’s lots of stuff going on at home and there’s lots of stuff going on at work,” O’Donnell admits, adding “The only thing I can really control is the work, by leaving.”

O’Donnell returned to The View in 2014 after a seven-year hiatus – but just six months after her comeback, the actress/comedian announced she was leaving again on Feb. 6.

“The truth is I had a heart attack two years ago, and stress is very bad for heart attack survivors,” O’Donnell explains. “I’m minimizing my stress by leaving The View … the stress that I’m having at home isn’t as easily remediable.”

Whether or not the stress at work is due to her frequent on-air clashes with the show’s other hosts is unclear.

As for her stress at home, the actress admits “marriage is complicated,” referring to her separation from longtime partner, Michelle Rounds. In addition, O’Donnell has five children, four of whom are now teenagers.

“It was no ones fault but mine that I didn’t discuss it today,” O’Donnell says of her decision not to discuss her exit on The View, adding, “And I probably won’t talk about it tomorrow.”