Charles H. Sloan-Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King Address Longstanding Rumors They’re in a Relationship

Oprah Winfrey and Charles H. SloanGayle King are being super honest.

After years of speculation of whether the duo—who have been best friends for nearly 50 years—are in a romantic relationship, the journalists addressed the chatter. 

“For years people used to say we were gay,” Oprah recalled in an interview alongside Gayle with Melinda Gates July 25. “We were up against that for forever. People still think that.”

And Gayle interjected on how it has affected their dating life. 

“I used to say, ‘You’ve got to do a show on this,’” Gayle added. “Because it’s hard enough for me to get a date on Saturday night with people thinking we’re gay.”

Gayle—who shares kids Kirby, 38, and William Jr., 37, with ex William Bumpus—emphasized the friends’ candidness noting, “If we were gay, we would tell you.”

Meanwhile, Oprah noted that she understands their friendship is a rarity. 

“Maybe people aren’t accustomed to seeing women with this kind of truth bond,” the 70-year-old explained. “The reason why I think our friendship has worked is because Gayle is happier—not happy—for me in any kind of success or victory or challenge I get through than I am for myself.”

Nonetheless, Oprah and Gayle’s bond has proven stronger than most friendships. After all, it dates all the way back to the 1970s, when they first met as young journalists at a Baltimore news station. 

“We bonded because we had very like philosophies,” Gayle reflected. “We were so in sync about so many different things, and I’d never met anybody like that.”

Oprah—who met her lifetime partner Stedman Graham in 1986—has also spoken often about how Gayle has supported her career from the very beginning. 

“When I was just turning 30 and I had an opportunity to audition for the job in Chicago,” she recalled in a 2018 E! News interview, “everyone except my best friend Gayle said, ‘You’re gonna fail if you go there.’”

Of course, Oprah ended up exceeding everyone’s wildest expectations—and went on to build an empire with the The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran for 25 years until 2011. And Gayle has been happy to be by her side through it all. 

“Who doesn't want to be her best friend?" Gayle previously told the New York Times. “If I didn't think I brought something to the table, or if I wasn't secure enough with myself then maybe it would bother me. But you know, I've been anchoring the news for a long time. I won three Emmys. I've proven that I can do that. I never feel I'm in her shadow. I feel I'm in her light, that's how I look at it.”