Amy Schumer says it took her 10 years to forgive her mom for past ‘destructive’ behavior

Amy Schumer’s relationship with her mom, Sandra, was a complicated one during the actor-comedian’s youth. Fans of Schumer’s Hulu series, “Life & Beth,” can even get a glimpse of that challenging dynamic in the new dramedy.

But in real life, they’ve put much of the challenge behind them.

Schumer plays a dissatisfied wine rep named Beth in the somewhat-fictional series, however, during Monday’s episode of the “Making Space with Hoda Kotb” podcast, she explained that the show is “straight-up” from her life.

“Yeah, the things about me are pretty true,” she said of the show. “The things about other people, like my mom, (are) exaggerated.”

But given that it’s all rooted in reality, the Academy Awards co-host felt it only fair to show her mother the scripts and watch the episodes alongside her so she could judge the fairness for herself.

“She’s just been very cool,” Schumer said of her mother's take on the version of their relationship that comes through on the show. “She’s like, ‘Look, I’m 73, and I’ve forgiven myself for these things.’"

And just as importantly, Schumer, now a mother herself, has forgiven Sandra, too.

"I have certainly forgiven her," the 40-year-old said. "And she’s a great grandma. We have a beautiful relationship, and the show is a lot about forgiveness and about dealing with your old traumas. I think it’s just better for you physically, mentally, all of it.”

Schumer then, without getting into too many details, spoke about what she had to forgive her mother for in the first place.

“Well, she and my dad divorced when I was, like, 12 or 13," she recalled. "They both started dating, and I think some of her behavior around that time was pretty destructive to my sister and I."

But in hindsight, she sees those "destructive" days differently.

"Now being a mom, I can only imagine what it was like for her," she told Hoda. "She was, you know — single mother, three kids, we had no money. She's a speech and hearing therapist for the deaf. She’s working second and third jobs. Like, she’s just trying to keep it moving. And I really can’t judge her decisions, because I don’t know what it’s like to go through that. So I found a real level of forgiveness and empathy with her."

Schumer explained that alone felt "a lot better than the sort of anger" remaining from her teenage years.

But getting to that place of forgiveness didn't happen overnight.

"I think it took me 10 years," she said. "I think it hit me when I was 30, how destructive she was, and it took me 10 years to really, really let, let that all go."

With a laugh, she added, "I can still get annoyed with her, and I do. I mean, she’s my mom!"