Oprah was, is, and probably always will be the queen of advice and lifestyle change, as well as the best gift-giver. However, behind every great woman is (oh yes) another strong, intelligent woman. For Oprah Winfrey it was the legendary Maya Angelou.
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The guru recently revealed that she’s turned to Angelou’s activism and written work for guidance through trials and tribulations. According to Cinema Blend, Winfrey discussed her feelings during Gwenyth Paltrow’s The Goop Podcast.
Every time I would get so upset about [gossip in the media], Maya would say, ‘Babe, you don’t have anything to do with that.’ I’d say, ‘But they’re saying, and it’s not true. You don’t know what it’s like when people are saying things about–‘… It’s been happening so long. She actually said, ‘Whoever’s sitting at the typewriter, they’re thinking, What can we say this week that’s going to sell some stories?’
Rumors that circulate regarding Winfrey’s thirty-year relationship with her partner Stedman have been a source of great stress for the actress, author and talk show host. There has always been speculation about about why they’ve never married or had children, however Winfrey struggles to understand the gossip surrounding their committed relationship. “It’s also why I stopped making as many public appearances with Stedman, because I realized that every time there’s a new photograph, there’s a new story.”
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It’s no wonder Winfrey turned to the late Maya Angelou for strength and advice. Angelou was someone who was sure of herself; she knew her path of life was all her own, not to be compared to others. Oprah seems to have followed that outlook when it comes to her decisions.
Nobody believes it, but it’s true. The only time I brought it up was when I said to Stedman, ‘What would have happened if we had actually gotten married?’ And the answer is: ‘We wouldn’t be together.’ 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.
If there’s anyone who could remind us that we can make up our own rules, it’s Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou. Her work has encouraged us all to love in and out of time.
Feature Image Via Oprah.com