Oprah Winfrey breaks down in tears at personal suffering that still plagues her despite earning billions

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Oprah Winfrey addressed the traumatic childhood experience that continues to haunt her in the most recent episode of her self-titled podcast.

The 71-year-old tycoon broke down in tears speaking about her tense relationship with her late mother Vernita Lee, who died in 2018, per Daily Mail.

Oprah Winfrey breaks down in tears as she remembers her mother's lack of love in childhood

Oprah joined American psychiatrist Dr Bruce Perry, a senior fellow at the Child Trauma Academy in Houston, Texas, to talk about her own personal suffering after a woman called Annie called the show to talk about her challenging relationship with her family.

The talk show host and businesswoman, who recently celebrated her birthday, broke down in tears as she talked about her tense relationship with her late mother, Vernita Lee.

She remembered how difficult it was for her to think of something kind to say about her mother when she was asked to give a speech about her at a church.

Oprah described the time she found it difficult to discuss her mother in public and how it led to forgiveness.

According to the talk show icon, she was already well-known by then. Oprah struggled to contain her tears as she said that she was requested to attend the event "to give all these accolades" about her mother.

She choked as she recounted, "I had been asked to come to church to give all these accolades about my mother and I couldn't think of one thing."

Oprah also recalled how she heard other speakers talk about their mothers taking care of them by packing their lunches and doing other caring duties, per Today.

She said, "I was like, 'Oh my God, I don't have one memory.' And so, when it came time for me to speak, I thought, 'Well what do I actually have to be grateful for?'"

"She didn't abort me. She did the best that she knew," was the most pleasant recollection the former talk show host could recall about her mother.

"The best that she knew was not enough to feed what I needed, was not enough to make me feel whole," Oprah added.

She continued, "...Was not enough to make me feel valued or seen or important to her. It was not. But it was the best that she could do, and I gave up the hope that it could have been anything other than what she had."

Oprah's final moments with her mother Vernita Lee

Vernita gave birth to her eldest child, Oprah, in Mississippi, in 1954, while still a teenager. Vernita raised Oprah with her own mother for several years and was a housekeeper all her life.

Oprah later discovered, as an adult, that the mother of four eventually placed a daughter for adoption. She described her last conversation with her mother in an emotional interview with People shortly after Vernita died in 2018.

Oprah opened up about the heartbreaking last Thanksgiving Day she shared with her mother Vernita at her Milwaukee home in late 2018. She admitted at the moment that she had a hard time at first coming up with the correct words to say farewell.

Oprah, who was supposed to assist Michelle Obama in launching her book 'Becoming' in Chicago, boarded a jet to meet her mother in Milwaukee after receiving a call from her sister informing her that their mother's health was deteriorating.

Oprah flew back to Chicago for the launch after spending a day with her mother. She then took a plane back to visit her mother a final time before rushing off to Boston for a speaking engagement.

Oprah eventually decided to postpone multiple appointments and make one last trip back to Milwaukee after feeling the need to talk to her mother for the last time.

"I felt like I knew it was the end, but I wanted to make sure she knew it was the end, and that I said everything I wanted to say," Oprah said.

Support pours in for Oprah's vulnerability

Support poured in from friends and admirers who were touched by the media veteran's transparency. One commented, "Decades passed. Billions earned. And this still brought her to tears. Parents need to understand and appreciate that what they do and say stays with children FOREVER."

Actress Holly Robinson Peete reacted to the passage with a heartfelt reaction and wrote, "Wow… this is why we love Oprah. Because she shares and articulates things so well and so intentionally that so many could never express properly."

"She couldn’t give what she didn’t have. A hard but powerful truth," commented family lawyer Lauren Lake.

Another wrote, "Sadly so many of us were raised by parents who didn’t know love and care from their parents. Generational trauma can be healed and it can start with us 💖 It starts with me in my family."

Dr Cheyenne Bryant wrote, "DEEP! All, that success and money doesn’t amount to how priceless parents are. The memories, lessons taught, time spent, laughter shared. Those things will always outlive money and success."

"Queen Oprah continues to give us a master class in forgiveness," chimed in another.

"That is called forgiveness, recognizing her mother’s humanity and giving her grace even when it hurts," said one.

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