The American talk display host and entrepreneur, Oprah Winfrey, is a self-made girl. Her ascension to success simply can't be overstated. After all, she was an author, manufacturer, philanthropist, businesswoman, and CEO of a multimedia production corporate. At the age of 49, she turned into one of the very few African American female billionaires international.

While she comes from a very rough background, Winfrey now enjoys a lavish existence that she's created for herself. One of the many things she labored on was once her relationship. She's been in a deeply non-public relationship with Stedman Graham for 36 years. However, their relationship is relatively unconventional and kind of confusing.

7 Who Is Oprah Winfrey's Boyfriend, Stedman Graham?

While Graham became well-known for being Winfrey's boyfriend, he is a lot more than that. The 71-year-old American educator was married prior to he and Winfrey started courting. He has a daughter and a granddaughter who considers Winfrey her grandmother.

Related: Oprah's Stepmother Labeled The Talk Show Mogul's Relationship With Stedman Graham As "Unhealthy" Graham is a businessman, public and motivational speaker, and writer. Having professional revel in as a tennis instructor, he loves sports. Now, he is the CEO and founding father of sports-focused control and consulting company with a internet price of $10 million.

6 Oprah Winfrey And Stedman Graham Have Been Dating For 36 Years

The couple met via a mutual friend and began relationship in 1986. Graham proposed to her six years later, and she stated yes. However, the couple canceled their wedding rite and never rescheduled.

Related: What Oprah Winfrey's Relationship Was Really Like With Her Dad Vernon According to Winfrey and Graham, their relationship should not have survived in the event that they were given married. Instead, they have got an excessively flexible relationship, where the couple is formally together and stocks a existence but are now not conventionally married.

5 Oprah Winfrey Doesn't Want To Be Married But Wants To Be Proposed To

Winfrey wrote in an essay published in Magazine O that she didn't want a marriage, and just sought after to be asked. "I wanted to know he felt I was worthy of being his missus, but I didn’t want the sacrifices, the compromises, the day-in-day-out commitment required to make a marriage work. My life with the show was my priority, and we both knew it."

Related: The Truth About Oprah Winfrey's Pregnancy At 14 Furthermore, Winfrey told Vogue in 2017, "We would not have stayed together because marriage requires a different way of being in this world. His interpretation of what it means to be a husband and what it would mean for me to be a wife would have been pretty traditional, and I would not have been able to fit into that."

4 Stedman Graham Is Not Just "Oprah's Man"

Graham has shared many times that their relationship is successful because of their independence and individuality. He said in an interview with CNN that his identity doesn't revolve around being Oprah's boyfriend.

Graham said, "I'm with a very special person who is — she's just so unbelievable, but that has nothing to do with my life. That's her life. I just support her in her life. And she supports me in my life." Each of them has their own pursuits and separate lives.

3 Oprah Winfrey's Best Friend, Gayle King, Has Always Been A Part Of The Relationship

Winfrey's best possible friend of greater than Forty years has been an enormous part of the couple's romantic relationship. Apparently, King has gone on each single holiday Winfrey and Graham went on since 1993. The custom started after King were given divorced and in step with King, "The three of us have had a wonderful time."

To the public, this comes off as slightly ordinary. Winfrey's stepmother has stated that her stepdaughter and King are inseparable. They even communicate on the telephone day-to-day greater than 3 times. She continued and said, "I don't know any man I've ever dated who could tolerate that."

Moreover, Winfrey has said sooner than that her friendship with King is better than marriage and more significant. Since Winfrey and King are still simply as close, it seems like Graham does tolerate it!

2 There Are Claims That Oprah and Stedman's Relationship Is A Cover

In a guide by way of Kitty Kelley called "Oprah: A Biography," Kelley claims that Winfrey's relationship with Graham is a cover to cover her sexuality. Reportedly, she has paid folks before to keep her same-sex affairs a secret. According to the e book, the couple don't sleep in the similar room. In a statement by Vernon, Winfrey's father, he stated that she admitted to him that she did not love Stedman.

Another factor that the e book brought up is a testimonial from a landscaper who used to work for Winfrey and Graham. He stated, "Oprah keeps Stedman around because she wants her audience to accept her as a normal woman with a man in her life. From what I saw during those four years, I can tell you there's nothing there with Stedman. Nothing at all. He's simply a fixture in her life - window dressing.”

Such claims shook up everything people know about Winfrey and Graham's decades-long relationship. However, they have not been proven and should be looked at as nothing more than hearsay.

1 Stedman Graham Has A Lot Of Competition

Graham is comfortable in their relationship, as he and Winfrey know exactly where they stand. Winfrey has said before that she is with a man who appreciates the fact that she is considered a powerful person. According to her, "He isn't looking to crowd in on it, no longer competing with it. He is aware of the right way to hold his personal."

In an interview with Ellen, Graham spoke about his relationship with Winfrey. He discussed how he cares about Winfrey's happiness and becoming the best she can be. Graham proceeded to say, "For me, I've been ready to search out my own happiness... and I'm happy with that."

It seems like the couple is in a satisfied and comfortable relationship. However, Winfrey's stepmother has said that their relationship is more like a business transaction. She said that their relationship is bizarre and unhealthy. In light of those claims and Kelley's, Winfrey's and Graham's relationship is very confusing. On one hand, it seems to have a healthy and balanced dynamic, on the other, there are a lot of negative claims and rumors circulating about the couple.

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