Drew Barrymore says she's finally gotten back into dating. But one part of it 'feels like a brush fire'.

Drew Barrymore has been a prominent actor since the 1980s. 

She comes from a long line of Hollywood legends as one of four children to aspiring actor Jaid and film star husband John Barrymore, Even her godparents, actor Sophia Loren, Anna Strasberg (wife of acclaimed acting teacher, Lee) and director Steven Spielberg, were considered royalty. 

Barrymore's life has been filled with turmoil (she had her first alcoholic drink at eight years old) and incredible victories (she is now a mother of two and a successful actor, business mogul and TV show host) – but there is still one area of life Barrymore admits she struggles in. 

And whilst it isn't her priority, it's dating.

Watch: Growing Up With Drew Barrymore. Post continues after video. 

While in conversation with People, the Never Been Kissed actor admitted she almost sees it as a "box to check".

"Every once in a while, I think I force myself to put myself out there almost as a box to check," she explained. "I am like, oh, let's not lose sight of this."

Understandably, her days are filled with hosting her program,The Drew Barrymore Show, her Drew's News podcast and running her Flower Beauty and Beautiful home line. Dating is, admittedly, hard to bring into the mix for the actor. 

However, she said she still tries to make time for it – on the rare occasion that she can.

"I'm such a mom and I'm so under the workload and I love being with my friends and I love being alone, so where does [dating] fit in? I struggle with it," she said. "My kids aren't old enough and my life isn't quiet enough."

Drew Barrymore, 2022. Image: Getty.

But earlier this month, the business mogul revealed on her show she was officially back on the dating scene.

"I am," she confirmed to her guest Whoopi Goldberg, before adding: "Because it had been so many years, I started to get a little worried, like I'm too good at being alone."

In 2021, Barrymore took a dive into the modern dating world and signed up for a dating app – but she admitted it had been a struggle to connect.

"It makes me feel like such a loser and then you are like 'it is hard out there,' " she said on her show. "It is hard out there for everybody. It is hard in person. It is hard on dating apps. It is vulnerable, but you keep trying."

Earlier this year, she went on a blind date and later on The Howard Stern Show and said the experience opened her eyes to the reality of the dating pool.

"None of the gentlemen, including yourself, have kids," the actor explained. "I have only dated, in the last few years, men who don't have children. I want it clean, I don't want to engage. 

"I don't think anyone's meeting my kids, I don't know if this is going anywhere. I realised something... which is I might live on planet parent."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Drew Barrymore (@drewbarrymore)

One aspect even celebrities can face in the dating world is ghosting – which Barrymore revealed feels like "a brush fire".

"I can't believe how much ghosting hurts," she explained. "For anyone who's been ghosted out there and they feel like a brush fire went through their bodies, I totally get it. It is so strange that someone would behave that way."

The actor said she also experiences another common pitfall in dating: regret. And added that some experiences feel doomed from the start.

"I've gone on dates where I'm like, 'Oh my God, why did I say yes to dinner?' Why do I not know: Don't do dinner. Because we haven't ordered yet and I don't want to be here," she said

"It's tough to sit down when you have so few nights off or to yourself, and you sit down, you're like, 's**t, I don't want to be here,'" she adds. "That in itself will make you not want to date."

Listen to The Spill, Mamamia's daily entertainment podcast. Post continues after audio. 

Whilst there may be misconceptions about dating as a celebrity, Barrymore wants to make the record straight – it is most definitely not easier to date... even if you are an A-lister.

"People don't ask me out a lot. It's not like I have all these offers or names on my dance card. That's not the way my life works," she said.

Not wanting to partake in hook-up culture – or marriage, for that matter – makes it even more challenging for the actor.

"There's no reason to be [married]," she said. "I would maybe live with someone again, maybe, but I've had kids and there's no way, I will never, ever, ever, get married again."

She later added about hooking up, "I don't want to meet someone to have sex with them. I'm happy to go on a date and get to know somebody," she explained. "I'm not in that place anymore that's just looking to hook up. That doesn't even make sense to me right now."

While there are, admittedly, a lot of drawbacks for the TV show talk host, she says she still dates "because it's a very human, natural thing to do".

"I feel like it would be unhealthy to cut it out completely, so I'm trying it to just do the normal female, single [thing]," she said. "[And] I love the stories that come out of it."

Barrymore married art consultant Will Kopelman, son of former Chanel CEO Arie, in 2012. The pair had two children together, Olive (10) and Frankie (eight), before divorcing in 2016.

Feature Image: Getty.