It’s not every day you find people in their sixties who have been friends for as long as Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King have. The media mogul has insisted that the only reason she and Gayle have maintained their friendship is that King has always been happy for her. According to King, she is not in Oprah’s shadow, she’s in her light and is content with the life she lives.
Time and again, we have experienced Oprah and Gayle’s friendship on our screens, particularly on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Whether they are going back in time or reading love letters from high school, their strong bond has always pierced through the screens, making us yearn and try to cultivate some Oprah-and-Gayle-like relationships of our own. These are a few times they were truly friendship goals:
8 The Time They Went Back In Time
Oprah and Gayle know a thing or two about going back in time, 400 years to be specific. The two friends got to experience what it was like to live in colonial Maine in the 1600s; no phones, no makeup, and no toilets. Not even underwear was in the offing. We got to see Oprah and Gayle ditch their expensive shoes to adapt to farm life and trade their weaves for cornrows. By a campfire, Gayle King’s attempt at performing a dance came to a halt when her partner let her fall. By the end of the trip, Oprah revealed that she left with a sense of wonder and amazement.
7 The Time They Went On A Road Trip
Until you have driven with a friend, you can’t really confirm whether you love them. Oprah and Gayle put their friendship to test back in 2006 when they went on a trip that started in Santa Barbara, California, and ended in New York City. 15 years later, the pair would reincarnate the moment in a joy ride that saw them answer questions from other best friends. One big takeaway from both trips is that Oprah, as social as she seems, prefers her alone time.
6 The Time They Read Their High School Love Letters
In an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah and Gayle got to interact with past boyfriends they both hadn’t seen in 20 years. They unveiled some of their old love letters that they read out loud. “On today, June 22nd, 1971, I have decided to voice my thoughts on paper to prevent my brain from becoming disrupted,” read one of Oprah’s letters. Oprah and Gayle were all giggles when old pictures that dated back to the ‘70s came up.
5 The Time Gayle Revealed Her Worst Date
Between Oprah and Gayle, there are a lot of stories, and one of Oprah’s favorites is that of Gayle’s worst date. Gayle had been divorced for two years and was just getting back into the dating game. Her old high school boyfriend, who’d read that she was divorced, made a call and organized a date. Despite the fact that Oprah warned her not to take the guy home, Gayle did. The shock was on Gayle when her date went to the tabloids and told them about their weekend. Oprah, on the other hand, had an ‘I told you so’ moment.
4 The Time Gayle Surprised Oprah On Her 40th Birthday
For her 40th, Oprah was going to have a quiet dinner and not make a big deal about it. However, she got surprise visits from Phylicia Rashad, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, and Patti LaBelle, who gave her a couple of nuggets on life in the 40s. The cherry on the cake was when Gayle King popped up out of nowhere and gave Oprah a warm embrace. Her showing up made Oprah shed a few tears.
3 The Time They Used The Internet For The First Time
How old is Oprah and Gayle’s friendship, you may ask? Well, older than the internet. Right around the time the internet became a thing, she and Gayle had to go through training on how to use it. Oprah and Gayle’s trainers were in for a treat, given that Oprah didn’t even know how to turn a computer on. Oprah and Gayle got to check their emails for the very first time, with Oprah receiving emails from Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates, and Diane Sawyer.
2 The Time They Advised Destiny’s Child
As part of the Oprah and Gayle Chronicles on Oprah Daily, the duo got to advise Beyoncé, Michelle Williams, and Kerry Rowland, who were concerned about how to keep a bond despite going in different directions in life. “ You have to make time for your friend,” Gayle said. “How do you do it? You just do it. You also have to stay connected. Tell each other the truth, and certainly be there for each other,” she added.
1 The Time Oprah Set Up Gayle’s Mom On A Date
What’s friendship when it does not extend to family? Oprah and Gayle reached a new level in their friendship when she set up Gayle’s mom on a date. Oprah went out of her way to look for someone suitable. "I feel like her other daughter. And I have to be very protective of who I’m fixing her up with," Oprah said of Gayle's mum. Peggy King secured a lunch date with Henry Brown, a respectable man with a 14-year-old daughter, making Oprah the world's greatest friend.