Gayle King Begged Oprah to Shut Down the Rumor That They Were Secretly Dating, Oprah Refused
Gayle King is 71 years old and has been Oprah Winfrey’s best friend since 1976, when they met as coworkers at WJZ-TV in Baltimore. Oprah was the 6pm news anchor. Gayle was a production assistant. A snowstorm one night meant Gayle couldn’t get home, Oprah invited her to stay over, and the friendship has lasted almost 50 years.
This story is from the early 1990s. Gayle had been married to attorney William Bumpus since 1982. In 1990, she walked in on him having an affair with one of her own close friends. The only person she told at first was Oprah. The divorce was finalized in 1993.
Around that time, the National Enquirer ran a cover story claiming the marriage ended because Gayle and Oprah were secretly together. Gayle, now newly single and trying to date, asked Oprah to use her show to kill the rumor directly. Oprah said no. She didn’t want to dignify the tabloids by responding to them.
Oprah had been with Stedman Graham since 1986. Gayle was the one trying to get a Saturday night date in New York while the country thought she was Oprah’s girlfriend.
She told Alex Cooper on Call Her Daddy this week that the rumors still circulate and she’s finally stopped caring. “As long as I feel good about what I’m doing, and the people I respect and trust are okay with it, otherwise you’ll drive yourself nuts.”
