Drew Barrymore abstains from sex: How Hollywood stars have moved on from past relationships

Drew Barrymore and Olivia Wilde are just a few celebrities who have gone to great lengths to protect their peace while navigating a new world after a breakup. 

Barrymore candidly revealed she's abstained from having an "intimate relationship" with another partner since her 2016 divorce from ex-husband Will Kopelman. Barrymore and Kopelman were married for four years and have two children together.

"Since entering life as a single mom, I have not been able to have an intimate relationship," the 47-year-old talk show host wrote in an essay. "I have had the honor and a pleasure to actually work on myself and learn what parenting is, something I was not exactly clear on growing up and I’ve had many learning curves thrown my way. I’ve been intimidated. I’ve been triumphant. I’ve been asked to be educated in every way I can be."

Barrymore praised her therapist for helping her adjust her views toward sex and pleasure as she pursued a self-imposed vow of celibacy while she was mourning the loss of "a nuclear family that I swore I would have for my daughters."

DREW BARRYMORE SAYS SHE CAN GO ‘YEARS’ WITHOUT SEX

"Sex is not love! It is the expression of love," she declared in her "Rebels Who Love" essay. "I have searched my whole life to have words like that to help me understand the difference."

Barrymore's revelation was personal and without judgment of others. She admitted that she merely wished she knew how to distinguish between the emotions at a younger age.

"I wish I had been taught by my mother or my father or my friends that there is age appropriateness business and that there is a way to become a classy young woman," the "50 First Dates" star wrote.

DREW BARRYMORE RECALLS BEING ‘DRUNK’ AND MAKING OUT WITH GEORGE CLOONEY'S FRIEND AFTER HER DIVORCE IN 2002

"There are things that are fun but also boundaries that can lead to tremendous self-respect. When you are selective and you look at sex as an expression of love and not love itself … well, I’m so glad to be here now in my life."

She added, "So for the record, I do not hate sex! I have just finally come to the epiphany that love and sex are simply not the same thing."

Barrymore wasn't the only star who sought help from others amid a difficult time in her life. Kaley Cuoco recently admitted she staged her own intervention following her divorce from ex-husband Karl Cook.

While filming the second season of her hit HBO Max show "The Flight Attendant," Cuoco gathered a few cast and crew members for a heart-to-heart. Cook and Cuoco announced their split in September 2021 after three years of marriage.

 KALEY CUOCO SAYS SHE WILL ‘NEVER GET MARRIED AGAIN’ FOLLOWING DIVORCE FROM KARL COOK

"One month in, I had an intervention on myself in my trailer — all my producers were in there. And I said, 'I need help,'" she told Variety. "It was interesting to say that out loud. And to have everyone be like, 'Yes, we want to help.' I'm a working woman, and so independent, and I really take pride in being able to do everything. Well, this time, I literally couldn't."

Cuoco said that her separation and subsequent divorce "was the loneliest I've ever felt, and I am not really someone to share that." 

She added, "I've been very open about it, because I think for the first time, I wanted people to know that things just aren't always what they seem. And things aren't always so perfect."

Portraying Cassie on "The Flight Attendant" was emotionally triggering, as her character struggled with depression and only aided in the "super dark time" Cuoco was already going through.

"I just didn't know how to deal with it. I was throwing myself into work to deny my depression, and how upset I was," she said. "Unfortunately, the character was so depressed that it wasn't helping me! I was really, really, really struggling. A lot of tears."

KALEY CUOCO AND TOM PELPHREY EXPECTING FIRST CHILD

The "Big Bang Theory" actress worked her way through her emotions with help from co-star Zosia Mamet, and also her new boyfriend, "Ozark" star Tom Pelphrey. 

Kaley and Tom also recently announced they are expecting their first child together in snaps shared on social media revealing Cuoco's pregnancy. "Baby girl Pelphrey coming 2023," she captioned a series of photos. "Beyond blessed and over the moon… I love you Tom Pelphrey."

Olivia Wilde moved on from her seven-year engagement to comedian Jason Sudeikis, 47, in November 2020 and into the arms of heartthrob Harry Styles.

The 38-year-old actress-turned-director began dating the former "Saturday Night Live" star in 2011, and the couple has two children — Otis and Daisy.

The end of her relationship with Sudeikis and the beginning of the Styles romance has been called into question, though, as Harry, 28, and Wilde went public with their relationship in January 2021 – two months after her split from Sudeikis – when they were pictured together before Styles officiated his agent's wedding in Montecito, California.

Wilde recently posted her secret salad dressing recipe on Instagram amid accusations by a former family nanny that Sudeikis was blindsided by Wilde's relationship with Styles. In the Instagram story, the "Don't Worry Darling" director shared a photo of page 177 from Nora Ephron's 1983 autobiographical novel based on her own marriage and divorce from her second husband, Carl Bernstein. 

OLIVIA WILDE, JASON SUDEIKIS LATEST STARS EMBROILED IN HOLLYWOOD NANNY SCANDALS

One of the many revelations recently made by the caretaker was how upset Sudeikis became upon hearing that Wilde was bringing a salad with her "secret dressing" to Styles while she was still dating the "Ted Lasso" star, according to DailyMail. He then "went outside and lay under her car so she wouldn't leave."

In a joint statement to Fox News Digital, Wilde and Sudeikis slammed their former nanny's allegations, saying: "As parents, it is incredibly upsetting to learn that a former nanny of our two young children would choose to make such false and scurrilous accusations about us publicly."

Wilde also recently called out the double standard of how women are treated differently than men when it comes to public parenting. 

OLIVIA WILDE CLAIMS JASON SUDEIKIS TRIED TO ‘THREATEN’ HER BY PUBLICLY SERVING CUSTODY PAPERS: REPORT

"When people see me not with my kids, it’s always ‘How dare she,’" she said told Variety. "I’ve never seen anyone say that about a guy."

While promoting her movie in April, Wilde was publicly served custody paperwork on stage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. Sudeikis was advocating for their children to live in New York, but ultimately lost the bid when a judge decided in August that the children's home state should be California. At the time, Wilde said his public actions were intended to "threaten" her and "catch me off guard."

She also told Variety, "The last two years, my family has gone through this kind of restructuring and a revolution that should be a totally personal experience. And it’s not. The most painful element of it has been women shaming me for making a decision that was for my own health and happiness."

Gisele Bündchen may be dipping her toes in the divorce waters soon as her 13-year marriage to Tom Brady is in overtime.

TOM BRADY SAYS FOOTBALL SEASON IS LIKE ‘DEPLOYMENT IN THE MILITARY’ AMID DIVORCE RUMORS

The 42-year-old supermodel and the Super Bowl winning quarterback have both reportedly retained divorce lawyers after growing apart the last few months, mainly due to his decision to come out of retirement a mere 40 days after announcing he was leaving the league for good in February.

Bündchen, who chooses an alternative approach with medicine, was recently seen visiting a holistic treatment center in Miami. Holistic health is a wellness practice which addresses all aspects of physical and emotional well-being.

Shortly after her session was over, Bündchen burned sage in her vehicle to clear her energy of any negative presence.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Burning sage is a centuries-old ritual from indigenous peoples that has been known for spiritually cleansing a person or space. Bündchen's alternative lifestyle includes clean living, wellness routines, meditation and eating only homegrown or organic food.

Brady's representatives had no comment when reached by Fox News Digital about reports that the seven-time Super Bowl champion and his wife had each hired divorce attorneys.

The couple reportedly stayed in separate residences in Miami after evacuating from Hurricane Ian last month with their kids. They also spent most of the summer living apart, and he took an 11-day vacation to the Bahamas with two of his children, Benjamin and Vivian, while Bündchen stayed in New York. He also shares co-parenting responsibilities of his 15-year-old son, Jack, with ex Bridget Moynahan.

"I’ve done my part, which is [to] be there for [Tom]. I moved to Boston, and I focused on creating a cocoon and a loving environment for my children to grow up in and to be there supporting him and his dreams," Bündchen said in a recent Elle interview. 

"Seeing my children succeed and become the beautiful little humans that they are, seeing him succeed and being fulfilled in his career — it makes me happy."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP