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Jo Koy is embracing his friendship with ex-girlfriend Chelsea Handler.
While attending the carpet for his new movie Easter Sunday, Koy, 51, shared where he and Handler, 47, stand after their breakup last month.
“We’re great friends and that’s how it will always be,” Koy told Entertainment Tonight. “I’ll always champion for her and she’ll always champion for me — and we’re gonna win, everyone wins.”
The standup comedian also added that going back to being friends feels “great.” He explained to the outlet, “It’s always been that way, so it’s the next chapter.”
RELATED: Chelsea Handler and Jo Koy’s Friends Are ‘Hoping They Can Still Work It Out’ After Couple Split
Chelsea Handler Instagram
This is not the first time the actor has spoken about the former couple’s renewned friendship. Right after the break last month, Koy spoke to TMZ on how they were doing.
“Everything’s good. We’re taking a break,” Koy said. “We’re great friends, we’ve always been great friends. The love is still there.”
Asked whether the two exes are still in touch, Koy said, ‘Yeah … but all love. That’s all.” He then refrained from revealing who pulled the plug on the relationship, calling it a “private” matter.
Koy was also asked whether he was ready to “jump back into the dating pool.” To that, Koy laughed and said he was “just going to concentrate on this movie thing right now.”
Amy Sussman/Getty Jo Koy and Chelsea Handler
Handler announced the couple’s split on Instagram on July 18, sharing a video that was meant to be posted on their one-year anniversary.
“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,” the former Chelsea host wrote. “I know many of you 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. This man blew my heart open with love and because of him, my life experience has changed forever.”
She continued, “To be loved and adored by @jokoy has been one of the greatest gifts of my life. He renewed my faith in men, in love, in being 100% who I am, and I’ve never been more optimistic for the future.”
The best-selling author said Koy “blew my creativity open, my lust for working hard again, being on the road again.” Handler additionally credited Koy for having “reminded me who I was and always have been.”
“This is not an ending. It’s another beginning, and it’s a comfort to know that I am still loved and love this man the way the sun loves the moon and the moon loves the sun. YOUR PERSON IS COMING,” she concluded. “So, please continue to root for both of us, because you never know what life will bring and let’s first start by all going to the theater on Aug. 5 to buy tickets to Jo’s new movie Easter Sunday and Filipino PRIDE! Let’s go!”
RELATED: Chelsea Handler Announces Breakup with Jo Koy: ‘Continue to Root for Us’
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In his own breakup post, Koy said the former couple “will always remain great friends and will always have love for one another.”
“I’m her biggest fan and I can’t wait for you all to see what she has in store for the future,” he added. “Keep killing it Chelsea! Mahal kita!”
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A mutual friend introduced Handler and Koy to each other more than 20 years ago. Thereafter, Koy would go on to make frequent appearances on Handler’s E! late-night series Chelsea Lately, which aired from 2007 to 2014.
The pair sparked dating rumors in September 2021 after they were spotted getting cozy at a Los Angeles Dodgers game. Handler confirmed their relationship later that month, sharing a photo of the two kissing on Instagram. She later called Koy “the best boyfriend” she’s ever had.
Handler has since called the pair’s breakup “painful.”
“I feel, you know, optimistic about the future now,” she said on the We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle podcast last month. “I’ve changed so much and my love was so big that it just blew me open. And as painful as the ending of something like that is, I’m so well-versed in therapy and understanding that every door shutting is a new beginning and I do believe it.”
Easter Sunday opens on Friday.
