Rob Schneider Says Jimmy Kimmel’s Wife ‘Ruined’ Him — While His Own Wife Just Left Him

Rob Schneider has a theory about what went wrong with Jimmy Kimmel. Whether that theory holds up depends on how much you know about Rob Schneider.

In the premiere episode of Bill O’Reilly‘s new podcast We’ll Do It Live!, which debuted March 12, the former Saturday Night Live cast member went after Kimmel, claiming the late-night host has been “deballed by his wife” and that Molly McNearney, Kimmel’s wife and co-head writer, has “completely ruined him.”

He went further: “Liberal women who have lost their minds are controlling these men, and these guys have no more balls.”

The clip went viral. But so did some context Schneider didn’t bring up himself.

The Divorce He Didn’t Mention

On December 8, 2025, Schneider’s wife Patricia Azarcoya filed for divorce in Maricopa County, Arizona, ending nearly 15 years of marriage. Court documents described the union as “irretrievably broken” with “no possibility of reconciliation.” Schneider accepted service four days later.

This is Schneider’s third divorce. He was previously married to London King from 1988 to 1990 — a union their daughter Elle King once described as a Vegas marriage, saying her parents “got married three days after they met.” His second marriage to Helena Schneider lasted from 2002 to roughly 2005.

Schneider did not reference his own marital history during the interview.

The Woman He’s Actually Describing

Schneider characterized McNearney’s role on the show as evidence that Kimmel has lost control. “She used to be an ‘assistant writer.’ Now she’s the writer,” he said. “And I think that’s completely ruined him.”

Here is McNearney’s actual career timeline, for anyone keeping score: She joined Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2004 as an assistant to the executive producer. She became co-head writer in 2008. She is now the show’s executive producer. She has won Emmy Awards for her writing. She has written for the Academy Awards four times and the Primetime Emmy Awards three times. In 2025, she won a Gracie Award for her work on the show.

She and Kimmel started dating in 2009 and married in 2013. She has been on the show for over 20 years.

The Daughter Who Called Him ‘Toxic’

Schneider’s comments about women controlling men carry additional context from his own family. In 2024, his daughter Elle King — from his first marriage — publicly detailed what she described as a “very toxic” relationship with her father, saying she goes “four or five years” without speaking to him.

King said Schneider sent her to “fat camp” as a child, made her cover her tattoos in extreme heat because he disapproved of them, and forgot “every single birthday,” including her 18th. She changed her last name from Schneider to King when she turned 18 because her mother raised her, and she “wanted to be her own person.”

“He’s just not nice,” King said on the Dumb Blonde podcast. “I don’t want to be associated with him.”

Schneider responded on Tucker Carlson’s podcast: “I wish I was the father in my 20s that you needed. Clearly I wasn’t.”

The Room Where It Happened

Schneider made his comments on the debut episode of a podcast hosted by Bill O’Reilly — a choice of venue that adds its own layer of context. O’Reilly was fired from Fox News in 2017 after it was revealed that he and the network had paid approximately $45 million in settlements to six women who accused him of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. One settlement alone was reportedly worth $32 million.

O’Reilly has denied wrongdoing and said he entered into the settlements to protect his family.

Why It Actually Matters

There is a real conversation to be had about whether late-night television has become too politically one-sided. Schneider is not the only person to raise this point, and plenty of viewers across the political spectrum have expressed similar frustrations.

But the specific argument Schneider made — that “liberal women who have lost their minds are controlling these men,” and that a woman’s rise from assistant to executive producer over two decades is proof of a man being “ruined” — is one that now sits alongside his own record.

Three divorces. A daughter who publicly called him toxic. And a conversation about women’s influence delivered on a podcast hosted by a man who left his last job over how he treated the women he worked with.