Gayle King and Oprah Winfrey are addressing the longtime rumor that they are kissing lesbians.
The public often accuses women, especially, single wealthy women, of being in the closet when they have close friends.
So we’re going to get into Oprah and Gayle addressing these longstanding rumors.
Page Six reports,
Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King prove that platonic friendships are just as important as romantic ones.
During an appearance on Melinda French Gates’ “Moments That Make Us” podcast Wednesday, the TV personalities and besties addressed longstanding rumors that they’ve been hiding the true nature of their relationship.
“You know, for years, people used to say we were gay, and listen, we were up against that forever,” Winfrey, 70, said. “And people still may think it.”
King, 69, admitted she used to beg Winfrey to do a segment about the unfounded speculation on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” so that men knew she was available.
“I used to say, ‘Oprah, you gotta do a show on this, because it’s hard enough for me to get a date on Saturday night with people thinking we’re gay,’” the CBS star said. “Because if we were gay, we’d tell you!”
Winfrey believes the rumors gained traction because most people “aren’t accustomed to seeing women” have such a strong bond, which she called a “truth bond.”
“Meaning, the reason why I think our friendship has worked is because Gayle is happier, not happy, but happier for me for any kind of success or victory or challenge I get through than I am for myself,” Winfrey said.
“And I feel as happy as she does — I can’t be happier than, cannot surpass Gayle,” she jokingly added. “You cannot out-happy her. I am equally as happy for her.”
While Winfrey has experienced some female friendships rooted in “jealousy” or competition, she and King have been each other’s biggest cheerleaders for nearly 50 years.
Elsewhere in the episode, the duo reflected on how different their lives would be without each other.
“I wouldn’t be at CBS. I wouldn’t have been at the Met Gala… there’s just so many things I wouldn’t have done [without Winfrey],” King admitted, noting that her 1993 divorce from William Bumpus also played a huge role in her career.
Oprah, who has been with partner Stedman Graham for over 35 years, said King filled a major void in her life.
This isn’t the first time the pair have addressed the speculation. Back in 2006, the best pals went on the record in the August issue of Winfrey’s magazine, O.
“I understand why people think we’re gay,” Winfrey said at the time. “There isn’t a definition in our culture for this kind of bond between women.”
“So I get why people have to label it – how can you be this close without it being sexual? How else can you explain a level of intimacy where someone always loves you, always respects you, admires you?”
Even then, both women insisted that even if they were together, they would have no problem coming out as “there’s nothing wrong with being gay.”
Why We Barely See Stedman Graham Anymore and Whether He’s Still with Oprah
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably wondered why we don’t see much of Stedman Graham anymore. Oprah and Stedman were one of the original power couples in Hollywood. They were always together at events, and their relationship was always in the media.
According to reports, Oprah and Stedman are still very much together.
But I do have to say, I don’t think either Oprah or Stedman would tell the public if they did break up. They are extremely private about their relationship and I don’t think they would ever announce a break up. But let me know what you think in the comments section.
How They Met
Let’s start with a little throwback to how Oprah and Stedman first met. It was back in 1986 at a charity event in Chicago. At that time, Oprah was a rising star with her talk show just beginning to take off. Stedman was already an established businessman and author. Their initial meeting didn’t immediately lead to romance; in fact, Stedman was dating someone else at the time. However, they reconnected later at a mutual friend’s house, where Oprah found herself drawn to his kindness and the way he supported his ailing friend (The List) (Entertainment Tonight).
Oprah recalls that evening vividly: “We left together, and I asked if he wanted to get a beer. (Yes, I drank a lot of beer then and wore cowboy boots every day.) I wasn’t that impressed but found him to be kind. He was, as she put it, ‘the sort of guy who sits with an ailing friend.’ Tall and handsome, for sure, but actually too handsome, I thought, to be interested in me” (The List).
Living Life on Their Terms
One of the main reasons we don’t see much of Stedman is that he and Oprah have figured out what works best for them. They chose not to get married, which was a conscious decision to maintain their personal freedom and happiness. Oprah has often said that if they had married, they might not have stayed together. “His interpretation of what it means to be a husband and what it would mean for me to be a wife would have been pretty traditional, and I would not have been able to fit into that,” she explained (Australia’s leading women’s network) (Peoplemag).
So it sounds like Stedman would probably expect his wife to be home with him every night, probably cooking for him and taking care of the household, and maybe even raising kids. He’s from that old school generation and would probably have a hard time accepting that his wife was not taking care of him.
Gayle King’s Rocky Dating History
Gayle King’s dating history is quite interesting and has seen its share of ups and downs. Gayle was married to William Bumpus, a Connecticut attorney, from 1982 to 1993. The marriage ended in divorce after she caught him cheating, an experience she has candidly shared, including the painful moment when she confronted both her husband and the woman involved, who was a friend of hers (Nicki Swift) (Entertainment Tonight).
Since then it seems Gayle King’s dating life has been a struggle.
ET reports,
The television host sat down with Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor — hosts of The Pivot Podcast — for an interview that dropped Wednesday, where she revealed that she once dumped a boyfriend who asked her for a loan.
“I went on a date. I was really excited, very excited about it,” she recalled. “We’d gone out maybe two months and then he said he really needed to talk to me. He wanted to have a private conversation…[he said], ‘Do you think you could lend me $4,000?’ I’m like, ‘Oh god.'”
“I was so crushed because he was somebody who was making, you know, six figures, successful,” King continued. “And when I said, you know, could I ask what it’s for? He said it was for a child support issue and to pay a payment on some furniture. [I thought] ‘Oh god, this is just getting worse.'”
The CBS Mornings host admitted that she did end up giving the man the loan, but that it soured their relationship and she “didn’t feel the same” for him, breaking up not long after.
As for what her BFF, Oprah Winfrey, had to say about the cringeworthy experience, King recalled, “Oprah said, ‘God, I would have felt better if he had said $40,000.'”
Chile…
Anyway, I can see why Oprah and Gayle are best friends and I would even call them soul mates, because they have such a strong bond and it’s not complicated by dating.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think about Oprah and Gayle addressing the rumors that they are kissing lesbians. And do you think Oprah and Stedman would ever admit it if they did break up?
