Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s wife, TV writer Molly McNearney, revealed on the “We Can Do Hard Things” podcast Thursday that she has lost relationships with some of her family members and friends who voted for President Trump.
After her husband clashed with President Trump over his show’s brief suspension in September, McNearney told the podcast she felt betrayed by family members who voted for the president. Disney had temporarily pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! following Kimmel’s controversial comments about Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin, but reinstated the show the following week after backlash.
“It hurts me so much because of the personal relationship I now have, where my husband is out there fighting this man, and to me, them voting for Trump is them not voting for my husband and me and our family. And I unfortunately have kind of lost relationships with people in my family because of it,” McNearney said.
She then claimed that politics is no longer about “Republican versus Democrat,” but about “family values.”
“And it’s really hard for me because I grew up believing in these Christian ideals of taking care of the sick and taking care of the poor, and I don’t see that happening with this Republican Party. And so it’s — I feel like I’m kind of in constant conflict, and I’m angry all the time, which isn’t healthy at all,” McNearney explained. “But I, like, personalize everything now. When I see these terrible stories every day, I’m immediately mad at certain aunts, uncles, cousins who put [Trump] in power.”
McNearney admitted it’s been “really hard” to cope with those feelings and said she wishes she could “deprogram” herself to make it easier. She added that before the 2024 election, she made a final attempt to persuade some of her conservative relatives not to vote for Trump.
“I’ve sent many emails to family, like right before the election, saying, ‘I’m begging you. Here’s the 10 reasons not to vote for this guy. Please don’t,” she recalled. “And I either got ignored by 90% of them or got truly insane responses from a few. It’s definitely caused a strain.”
While McNearney said she has lost touch with some relatives who support Trump, she told the podcast hosts that she has grown closer to other family members and friends who share her political views.
“I’ve definitely pulled in closer with the family that I feel more aligned with. And I hate that this has happened. … It feels silly,” she said. “You know, part of me goes, ‘Don’t let politics get in the way,’ but to me, this isn’t politics. It’s truly values. And we just were not aligned anymore.”
Earlier in the podcast, McNearney shared that she voted Republican down the ballot while growing up in St. Louis but changed after moving away and meeting people from diverse backgrounds. She said those past views now give her “a little bit of sympathy” for her conservative relatives.
“There’s like a little bit of sympathy I have for people in my family that I feel are kind of being deliberately misinformed every day, and they’ve kind of … they are deliberately being misinformed every day, and they believe it,” she claimed.
🚨 NEW: Jimmy Kimmel’s Wife & Show Producer Molly McNearney Says She is Losing Relationships w/ Her Trump-Voting Family, Wishes She Could ‘Deprogram’ Herself
“To me, them voting for Trump is them not voting for my husband and me and our family … This is not just Republican… pic.twitter.com/gLPZUJ979K
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) November 8, 2025
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