Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King Share the Intense Story of How They Became Friends 46 Years Ago
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Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King shared how their 46-year-long friendship began.
They have a snowstorm to thank for the night they became best friends.
“We’ve literally been friends ever since,” Winfrey said.
True friendship is one of life’s most precious gifts, which is why Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King don’t take theirs for granted. In 46 years, the pair haven’t had a single serious argument, they told People for the magazine’s Beautiful Issue. And to think, if a winter storm hadn’t snowed them in together as co-workers, they may have never become so close.
It all started in their early 20s when they worked at WJZ-TV in Baltimore—Winfrey as a news anchor and King as a production assistant and writer. When a serious snowstorm showed up in the forecast, they hardly knew each other, but Winfrey offered King a place to stay so that she wouldn’t get stranded.
“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.”
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.
Not to mention, they have both climbed incredible broadcast careers while supporting each other along the way. For Winfrey, becoming one of the world’s most influential women was no easy feat, and King’s listening ear was especially valued during the early days of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
“Gayle was my regulation,” she said tearfully on TheDrew Barrymore Show in April 2021. “It makes me want to cry thinking about it ... every night, after the show, I would come home and I would have these sessions ... I would talk to Gayle before bed and then I would be calmer.”
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,” she told The Oprah Magazine. “Whatever this friendship is, it’s been a very fun ride—and we’ve taken it together.”
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