Chelsea Handler explains mix up that had people thinking mystery man is her new boyfriend

Chelsea Handler is setting the record straight.

The comedian posted a video explaining a mix up that had people thinking she had a new boyfriend.

It all began when Handler shared a photo on her Instagram story of her with a mystery man, whom she called her “baby.” In the photo, she is seen hugging him and kissing his cheek.

“This is my baby. He is full of love and positivity and his body is my wonderland. I love my baby and now I go back to work,” she wrote, before sharing that she had two shows this weekend.

“My vacation is over you guys, and now my publicists are calling me. They just texted me with a Google thing of me saying, ‘Chelsea Handler announces new boyfriend on Instagram.’ I did not announce new boyfriend on Instagram,” she said. “That man was, is, the bartender right next door to my house in Mallorca, and that’s why he’s my baby. OK.”

“’Baby’ doesn’t mean ‘boyfriend,’ baby means he is my baby because he made me so many drinks,” she continued. “So I can’t believe I have to clarify things like this.”

Handler added that she received texts from her cousins asking if the stories were real and she had a new boyfriend.

The comedian was previously dating Jo Koy. The two split in July 2022 after almost a year of dating. Handler announced their breakup ahead of their one-year anniversary.

“In anticipation of celebrating our first year together, Jo and I recorded this video early, but as many of you have noticed, it is with a heavy heart to announce that we have decided together that it is best for us to take a break from our relationship right now,” Handler wrote at the time, adding that she knew many people were “invested in our love, and I wanted to express to you how much that meant to both of us. How much it still means. And how much I now believe in love for each one of us.”

During an August 2022 appearance on the 3rd hour of TODAY, Koy shared insight on their split.

“Her and I have been friends forever, and it’s just like, we’re at that stage where we just realized that being friends is best,” Koy said, “Just because it’s a breakup doesn’t mean we have to, like, hate. It doesn’t even make sense! We were friends before this, so we’re always going to be friends.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com