If you’ve ever wondered why they never got married, you’re in luck because Oprah just shared their beautiful love story and the reason why they chose to not get married in a recent article in O! Magazine.
In the blog-style post Oprah shared how she met her “tall, handsome and polite” partner all those years ago and how their relationship blossomed into a 33-year long relationship.
“I had seen a particular man around town, but he was always with the same girlfriend, so I didn't pay much attention. One day, though, we were both visiting a mutual friend who was ill and later died of AIDS. The guy with the girlfriend had come to the friend's home alone, and so had I. We left together, and I asked if he wanted to get a beer. (Yes, I drank a lot of beer then and wore cowboy boots every day.) He said he didn't drink. (Still doesn't—not one sip of nothin' alcoholic since I've known him),” she wrote.
She added that he later broke up with his girlfriend and had inquired about her relationship status. A few months later, the two were in a relationship.
In 1993, Sted proposed and Oprah said yes.
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News of the engagement went viral at the time as Oprah’s career was at it’s peak but she recalls the doubts she had about wanting to be a married woman.
“I had doubts. I realized I didn't actually want a marriage. I wanted 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."
The couple opted for a spiritual partnership instead, as they both agreed that had they tied the marital knot, they would not still be together.
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In a previous interview with People Magazine, Oprah also opened up about why she never had children with Sted.
“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',” she told the publication.
She added that she later realized that having children is a full time job that she could never do justice to.
“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,” she said.
