Rosie O'Donnell's daughter breaks silence on runaway

Rosie O'Donnell with her daughters Vivienne Rose O'Donnell (left) and Chelsea Belle O'Donnell (right) who ran away in August. Photo / Getty Images

Rosie O'Donnell's daughter has broken her silence following the drama surrounding her decision to leave home, revealing the actress asked her to go.

O'Donnell reported her adopted daughter missing in August, days after the then-17 year old left home with her pet dog. Chelsea O'Donnell was found hours later at the home of alleged heroin addict Steven Sheerer.

She has since left home for good and is now living with Sheerer, her boyfriend, in New Jersey.

Opening up about her troubled relationship with Rosie, the teenager told the Daily Mail she left home when her adopted mum told her to.

"She told me to leave and take my dog. Rosie knew I was planning to leave, that's why I think she kicked me out. She asked me to talk about what was going on and I didn't want to. So she asked for my phone and my computer. This was hours before she told me to leave. I gave them to her. A few hours later, she told me to leave," she said.

"I wasn't planning to go until I turned 18 on the 24th (August)."

A representative for the actress and TV personality told People magazine the situation with Chelsea is "heartbreaking on every level".

Chelsea also dismissed claims made by Rosie's representatives when she was reported missing that the teen was living "with mental illness".

She told the Daily Mail she suffered from anxiety and depression when Rosie and her ex-wife Kelli Carpenter split and divorced in 2007.

"Putting out there that I am mentally ill was really hurtful," she said.

"People think I'm this crazy person and as I've said, I have depression and bad anxiety but it's been something that's gotten a lot better. But these were personal things and I didn't want anyone to know them about me... I wouldn't say I'm mentally ill, I would say lots of people struggle with what I have."

And talking about her relationship with Sheerer, Chelsea said: "I guess everyone is putting out there he's a bad guy from things that happened in the past but he's not. He supports me and I love him. He's not into anything bad now, he works hard."

The teenager told the publication she wants to complete high school online and then move to Wisconsin, where her birth mother lives, with her boyfriend.

- WENN