Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King are friends for 46 years, and the pair haven’t had a single serious argument. Did you know, they became so close because of a winter storm? Yes. Apparently, they were co-workers and a winter storm has snowed that time and they had to be in together. If not for that winter storm, this 46 year friendship would not have been born. Geez! Let me give you some time to sink that in.
Not everyone gets the opportunity to grow such a strong companionship, which is why Winfrey feels as though it’s literally a godsend. “Something about this relationship feels otherworldly to me, like it was designed by a power and a hand greater than my own.” I mean it’s a thing now to say I am your Gayle or you are my Oprah to our close friends! That’s how you know their friendship is legendary and iconic. Lets break down how they became friends.
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How Did Oprah Winfrey And Gayle King Become Friends?
It all started in their 20s, when Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King worked at WJZ-TV in Baltimore. Winfrey was a news anchor and King was a production assistant and writer. At that time, a serious snowstorm showed up in the forecast. So, Winfrey, whom at that time, did not even know King offered a place for her to stay so that she would not get stranded. (I know, this could have easily occupied a 15 minute romantic scene in a movie!
“We ended up talking all night long,” Winfrey, now 68, recalled to People. And before work the next day, she made sure King had a toothbrush and a fresh dress to wear. To this day, King, now 67, remembers “it was purple with a scoop neck and bell sleeves.” Winfrey continued: “We’ve literally been friends ever since.” (So cool! (literally and figuratively) that they could start their friendship in a very positive note!)
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Know More About Their Friendship
The duo instantly clicked because they had so much in common. “For the first time, I met somebody who I felt was like me,” King told O, The Oprah Magazine in 2006. “I’d never met anybody like that. Certainly not another Black girl. I grew up in an all-white community.”
They bonded over their loves of Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond. “It’s that whole being-the-odd-girl-out thing—we didn’t fit into everybody else’s perception of what it’s like to be a Black girl,” Winfrey explained. “But we still had a very strong sense of being Black and were very proud of being Black. So to meet another Black girl like that was, wow!” King added.
Over four decades, though, they’ve had plenty of time to discover their differences. King told People she “loves a good soiree,” whereas Winfrey prefers curling up with a good book. Most importantly, though, their loyalty to each other is unwavering. “I [can] trust her about anything,” King said. “Her advice is always very good.” They also admitted to always telling each other the truth, “even if you don’t want to hear it,” Winfrey laughed.
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