The iconic talk show host believes that her relationship with her partner does not require external validation.
The world-famous TV personality, media mogul, philanthropist and wildly loved Oprah Winfrey has always strived to empower women through her speeches, actions, and way of life. Born to an unmarried single mother, Oprah always had deep-seated sympathy for women. She spent her entire life supporting and caring for women and children who needed help. And through the hardships she has witnessed, her courage and confidence has only grown with time.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Oprah opened up about her strong and steady relationship with her partner Graham Stedman and her decision to never be a mother. She admitted that at one point in time she did want to become a mother but with the due course of time she saw "the depth of responsibility and sacrifice that is actually required to be a mother."
"At one point in Chicago I had bought an additional apartment because I was thinking, 'Well, if we get married, I’m going to need room for children,'" she said. Oprah also mentioned how seeing a lot of "messed up" parents drove her to think that mothers never get their due credit. She goes on to explain that while she has the highest regard for women who stay at home and raise their children, she could never "have the ability to compartmentalize the way I see other women do."
"I realized, 'Whoa, I'm talking to a lot of messed up people, and they are messed up because they had mothers and fathers who were not aware of how serious that job is,'" she said. "I don't have the ability to compartmentalize the way I see other women do. It is why, throughout my years, I have had the highest regard for women who choose to be at home [with] their kids, because I don't know how you do that all day long. Nobody gives women the credit they deserve," she told PEOPLE.
She then heaps praises on her long-term partner, Stedman who she says is not demanding and lets her be who she is. On multiple occasions, Oprah has explained how her relationship with Stedman is deeply fulfilling and has never had the requirement of any labels or societal validations. She believes that this undeniable compatibility that they have would have been hampered if they had got married.
"I used to think about this all the time, that I was working these 17-hour days, and so were my producers, and then I go home and I have my two dogs and I have Stedman, who's letting me be who I need to be in the world. He's never demanding anything from me like, 'Where's my breakfast? Where's my dinner?' Never any of that, which I believed would have changed had we married," she added.
Despite Oprah's deep love for children, she decided to never embrace motherhood because she feels like she is the "mother to the world's children." Her compassion for children is not unheard of. She also believes that her maternal instincts need to reach places far and wide, positively impacting numerous children who wait for help and support.
"When people were pressuring me to get married and have children, I knew I was not going to be a person that ever regretted not having them," she said, "because I feel like I am a mother to the world's children," reports Her Moments.
The decision that she had taken years ago still stands undeterred. She is passionately committed to the man in her life and exudes motherly affection to all the children she has been working to uplift. She might not have delivered a baby, but she is definitely a mother to numerous children.
"I have not had one regret about that. I also believe that part of the reason why I don’t have regrets is because I got to fulfill it in the way that was best for me: the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa," she says. "Those girls fill that maternal fold that I perhaps would have had. In fact, they overfill — I'm overflowed with maternal."
References:
https://people.com/movies/oprah-winfrey-why-she-didnt-marry-have-kids/
http://godsfighter3.blogspot.com/2011/07/hardships-of-oprah-winfrey.html
https://hermoments.com/oprah-winfrey-children/?bdk=a*undefined&ch=bt
