Media mogul, Oprah Winfrey, has opened up about her life stating that she has “not had one regret” about how she has lived to date, especially not having a child.
Speaking to People, she spoke about some major decisions she has made which include not marrying.
Winfrey, who is 65 years old, met her longtime partner, Stedman Graham, at a charity event in 1986 after which they got engaged. She said that at some point, she considered having children, and even bought an extra apartment should she need the space for kids.
In a mouthwatering interview on this week’s issue of People which celebrates extraordinary Women Changing the World, she said: “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.’”
While that never came to be, Winfrey did say she saw “the depth of responsibility and sacrifice that is actually required to be a mother” during her years on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
“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 says.
“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 said.
She further stated that while she contemplated tying the knot and having babies previously, she believes if she had wedded Graham, the marriage to the businessman and author wouldn’t have been successful.
Launching her Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, she has filled the void of not having children as she continues to mentor thousands of girls.
“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.”
Behind her wealth, however, is the story of pain, struggle, and triumph.
The media mogul was once a victim of rape. An experience she recounted during an appearance at Ball State University, Indiana as part of a lecture series.
Raped at the tender age of nine, she told the over 3,000 students present; “Anybody who has been verbally abused or physically abused will spend a great deal of their life rebuilding their esteem.”
She added that being physically beaten and abused as a child is a cultural experience many African-American children went through.
