Jimmy Kimmel Is ‘Taking Full Advantage’ of Being Home With His Kids: ‘They’ve Helped Save His Sanity’

Making memories! Jimmy Kimmel is “taking full advantage” of being with his family amid the coronavirus outbreak, a source exclusively tells Closer Weekly. “The pandemic has slowed him down a lot and the kids love having him at home.” Jimmy’s wife, Molly McNearney, also “thinks it’s great” her hubby is spending “quality time” with his loved ones “because Jimmy’s such a workaholic.”

“Jimmy jokes that he’s replaced his sidekick Guillermo [Rodriguez] with his family,” the insider says of the comedian. “The situation couldn’t have worked out better. Jimmy feels like they’ve helped save his sanity during this crazy time.”

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In quarantine, the dad of four to kids — Katie, 29, Kevin, 26, Jane, 5, and William, 3 — has been making “Pasta Tina,” a yummy Italian dish he created for Jane and William “every day,” the source says. He shared the recipe for the delicious meal during an April 13 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “Basically, it’s a cannellini beans, garlic, olive oil and a little bit of flavoring,” he revealed at the time. “And I make [this] pasta for the kids with parmesan cheese and they demand it every day.”

However, Jimmy isn’t as popular with his kids outside the kitchen. He jokingly told Closer Weekly that his children don’t think he’s a very important person. “I keep telling them I’m this big, funny TV star, and they don’t seem to care,” he laughed in September 2019. “They think everybody’s father is on TV. I don’t think they know the difference between a TV and an iPhone.”

Even though his kids don’t think he’s a big deal, they have been helping him shoot Jimmy Kimmel Live! at home. Sometimes, Jimmy would start the program with the beautiful artwork his kids created. But there are times he would almost lose his patience in quarantine.

“My [3-year-old] son is screaming ‘diarrhea’ and ‘Spiderman has a penis’ every two to three minutes. And I’m out here yelling into my iPad,” he revealed on his talk show. “Everyone’s doing the best they can under the circumstances.”