June 14, 2025
Oprah Winfrey is opening up about why she chose not to have children.
The 71-year-old media personality made a special appearance in the new documentary Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything, and reflected on how Barbara Walters’ personal life shaped her own views on motherhood.
Oprah recalled a conversation she had with the journalist, encouraging her to consider motherhood.
"I remember her telling me once that there's nothing more fulfilling than having children, and 'You should really think about it,' " Oprah, who has been with her longtime partner Stedman Graham since 1986, looked back.
She added, "And I was like, 'Okay, but I'm looking at you, so no.'"
It is pertinent to mention that Barbara had adopted her daughter Jackie after several miscarriages and she reportedly had a complicated relationship with her daughter.
Oprah described Walters’ relationship with her daughter as “complex” and “charged,” and said it was “one of the reasons why I never had children.”
In the film, Walters also reflected on how difficult it was to raise a child while working in TV. “In those days, if I had brought Jackie into the studio, it would be as if I had bought a dog who was not housebroken,” she said in archived footage.