Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King at the Stella McCartney fashion show as part of Paris Fashion Week Fall 2026 on March 4, 2026 in Paris, France. (Photo by Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images)
Gayle King is not dating her best friend, Oprah Winfrey! She put those rumors to rest while appearing on Wednesday’s episode of the podcast, ‘Call Me Daddy.’ These rumors have BEEN around, following Oprah and Gayle, throughout their entire friendship. Also on the episode, Gayle opened up about what it’s been like on the receiving end and how she feels about the rumors now.
While chatting with Alex Cooper, Gayle admitted that the “lesbian couple” headlines and speculation used to really bother her, especially following her divorce in 1993. She and William Bumpus had split after 11 years of marriage and two children together. Amid her breakup, Gayle King told Cooper that The National Enquirer claimed her secret gay affair with Oprah Winfrey was one of the reasons for her divorce.
“Number one, if we were gay, we would tell you because, believe me, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just that I prefer a man.”
These days, Gayle King says she’s unbothered, mostly, by the whispers of a romance. “I’ve gotten to the point in my life where very few things get to me because when you go on social media, it is an accelerator on hate.”
She added, “As long as I feel good about what I’m doing and the people I respect and trust are okay with it, especially someone whose opinion I value, otherwise, you’ll drive yourself nuts. So now, I really don’t care.”
Two years ago, the iconic best friends addressed these very same rumors! The appeared on the series, ‘The Moments That Make Us.’ Gayle said the same thing then that she told Alex Cooper on her podcast this week. King said she and Oprah would tell the public if they were dating each other. Winfrey shared that their tight friendship is a rare sight and probably why people speculate there’s more between them.
“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. And I feel as happy as she does I cant be happier than, cannot surpass Gayle. You cannot out-happy her. I am equally as happy for her,” Oprah said at the time.
However, back in the earlier days of their 50-year friendship? Gayle King used to beg Oprah Winfrey to shut it all down using her show! The rumors, Gayle alleges, were interfering with her love life and even getting a Saturday night date. But while she encouraged Oprah to speak out, King says her best friend would urge her to let it go. “Well that’s fine for you to say. You have somebody, I don’t,” Gayle said of her response to Winfrey.
Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King first met while working at a TV station in Baltimore. When a snowstorm was about to hit one day, Oprah invited Gayle to crash at her house and they’ve “literally been friends ever since.”
