Gayle King says Oprah Winfrey left her 'bothered' as she refused to address 'gay' rumors

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Gayle King has once again opened up about the long-standing rumor that she was romantically involved with Oprah Winfrey. 

The TV personality, 71, appeared on the Wednesday, May 27 episode of ‘Call Her Daddy’ where she also revealed how Winfrey refused her request to shut down the persistent rumors that their relationship was not simply platonic on the ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show.’

Gayle King reveals she used to worry a lot about Oprah Winfrey dating rumors

When host Alex Cooper asked King, “Tell me how that feels when you guys have had to handle those headlines, handle those rumors, handle that speculation,” she replied, “It used to really bother me.”

Explaining further, the CBS Mornings co-host said, “I was recently divorced, and there was — The National Enquirer did a story about, that's the reason for the divorce, because they're secretly gay.”

“Number one, if we were gay, we would tell you because, believe me, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just, I prefer a man,” she added.

Gayle King recalls odds with Oprah Winfrey

King also recalled the time when she asked Winfrey to clear the rumor on her talk show, “because it's hard enough for me to get a date on a Saturday night, and now people think I'm a lesbian. You've got to say something.”

But the iconic talk show host simply refused, saying “leave it alone”, which was not liked by King at the time since Winfrey had “somebody. I don’t.”

“So it used to really bother me. And now, even today, there are still people who say, 'Well, you know, the truth is...' I don't care. I've now gotten to the point in my life that very few things get to me,” King added.

Gayle King says she does not care about rumors anymore

Further into the podcast, the author told Cooper that she now focuses on ensuring she feels “good about what I'm doing, the people I respect, and trust are OK with it — who will say, 'Well, Mom, maybe you shouldn't have done that,' or somebody whose opinion I value.”

“Otherwise, you'll drive yourself nuts. So now I really don't care,” King added.

Gayle King and Oprah Winfrey's friendship is almost 50 years old

The friendship between the two legends began almost five decades ago when they were both working at WJZ-TV in Baltimore. Winfrey had asked King to stay at her place as a snowstorm was approaching.

“We ended up talking all night long. We've literally been friends ever since,” Winfrey told PEOPLE in 2022.

At the time, King also shared that she “always get[s], 'This is my Oprah’. It's one of the biggest compliments,” to which Winfrey added, “And I always get, 'This is my Gayle'. I understand what that means: long-term, standing in the gap, no matter what, I'm here for you.”