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Even though she and Kelli are no longer a couple, Rosie says she wants her children to know that family is forever.

"[I want them to know] they can survive challenges, even unexpected ones that are terrifically sad," she says. "And that change is inevitable, and you can always survive it. ... There is always something new in the future, and you don't know what it's going to be, but it's got the potential for tremendous joy."

To celebrate families of all kinds, Rosie interviewed dozens of children—including her own—for the HBO documentary A Family is a Family is a Family: A Rosie O'Donnell Celebration.

In one scene, Rosie talks with her youngest daughter, Vivienne, about her separation from "mommy Kelli" and the importance of family. "We need families so that we have people to take care of us and people we can take care of, and so that we can learn what it means to love all the way," she tells her daughter. "You have to know that families are forever. That means, no matter what happens, no matter what you do, your family is always going to be there for you to help you and to love you."

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