How did Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King meet? Decades long friendship explored as duo shut down relationship rumors

Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King recently opened up about the rumors surrounding their friendship. During an appearance in Melinda French Gates' Moments That Make Us YouTube series, released on Wednesday, July 24, Oprah noted that for years people used to think that she and Gayle were gay. King even added that the rumors made it hard for her to get a date on a Saturday night. She confirmed:

"Because if we were gay, we’d tell you!"

Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King met for the first time when they were both working for Baltimore news station WJZ-TV around 50 years ago. The duo instantly became friends after Winfrey offered King a place to stay during a major snowstorm.

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"We were up against that forever": Oprah Winfrey on the rumors claiming that she and Gayle King were lesbians

Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King's strong bond has led to a plethora of rumors over the years all claiming that they were a couple. However, the duo shut down these decade-old rumors during an appearance on the July 24 episode of the Moments That Make Us YouTube series.

During the show, series host and philanthropist Melinda French Gates asked Oprah and Gayle if they felt comfortable simply sharing everything. The duo were both in agreement. Winfrey explained:

"I think we’ve shared pretty much everything and I would have to say, it wasn’t even a matter of navigation. You know, for years, people used to say we were gay, and listen, we were up against that forever. And people still may think it."

Gayle King added:

"I used to say to 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,'"

As mentioned above, King further added that if she and Oprah were gay, they would simply tell them. Melinda French Gates recalled the time when people used to think that and stated that Oprah and Gayle had taught society that women can have "deep, true friendships." Oprah agreed with the philanthropist and chimed in:

"One of the things I started to think was, maybe people aren't accustomed to seeing women with this kind of 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,"

Oprah previously addressed the rumors in a 2006 issue of O Magazine when she noted that she understood why people thought they were gay as there was no definition in "our culture" for such a bond between women. She mentioned how people wondered how they could be this close without the relationship being s*xual. She told the publication:

"How else can you explain a level of intimacy where someone always loves you, always respects you, admires you?"

Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King's strong bond began 50 years ago when the duo was working together at Baltimore's WJZ-TV, with Oprah as the station's anchor, and Gayle as a writer and production assistant. Way back in 1976, the former let the latter crash at her place overnight during a major snowstorm sparking the start of a decades-long friendship.

While recalling the night for an interview with People magazine in 2022, Winfrey noted that the duo ended up talking the whole night long. She told the publication:

"We’ve literally been friends ever since,"

In an August 2006 interview with O Magazine, Gayle King explained that the duo became friends as that night was the first time that she felt she met somebody that she felt was like her. King told the publication:

"I’d never met anybody like that. Certainly not another Black girl. I grew up in an all-white community."

When the Oprah Winfrey-hosted A.M.Chicago became The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986, Gayle King was invited as a guest in the first season of the newly named show. The show, which lasted for 25 years, saw King make an appearance in 141 different episodes, making her the show's most frequent guest. For context, the show's second most frequent guest, Celine Dion had 28 appearances.

Prior to striking the deal to host CBS This Morning, Gayle King briefly hosted The Gayle King Show on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). When King was criticized for bringing up the SA allegations against the late basketball great Kobe Bryant following his death in 2020, Oprah stood by her side and voiced support for King. Regarding the strength of their bond, Oprah told People in 2022:

"She (Gayle King) became my mother, my sister, my friend. She became all the things that I had never had,"

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Melinda French Gates' Moments That Make Us episode featuring Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King is available to stream on the former Microsoft manager's official YouTube channel.