Gayle King makes shock revelation about her dating life a year after denying rumors about her and Oprah
Now that Gayle King has made it back from space she is ready to tackle an even more mysterious frontier: dating.
The 70-year old American TV personality (typically known for being Oprah Winfrey’s right-hand woman) recently opened up to Entertainment Tonight to reaffirm something she has said in interviews before – she is interested in dating someone younger.
At a launch party for Hoda Kotb’s new venture Joy 101, King was asked about whether or not she believes in finding love for herself, to which she said she does.
She then went on to ask the interviewer, ‘Why, you got somebody for me?’
The interviewer, an ET reporter, said that she could find someone for her.
‘I am alert and available!’ King chimed in.
When asked what she was looking for, King responded, ‘The same thing you want… the same thing you got!’
The interviewer then asked King to address a rumor that she liked younger men.
Gayle King told Entertainment Tonight that she is ‘alert and available’ when it comes to dating
This is not the first time King has said she would like to be with a younger man
King and longtime best friend and cohost Oprah Winfrey were rumored to secretly be dating, but they denied the rumors in 2024
King adamantly agreed, saying, ‘Well, I’ve always said that.’
‘I just don’t want someone young enough I could’ve given birth to,’ she clarified.
‘But I’m not mad at younger. I’m not a cougar, but yeah. I just say this… you stay open to all possibilities.’
One possibility that King fervently shut down though was the one of her and longtime best friend and cohost Oprah Winfrey dating.
For years, the public speculated whether the two were romantically linked, but in July 2024 they finally addressed the rumors head on.
‘For years people used to say we were gay,’ Oprah said in an interview her and King had with Melinda Gates.
‘We were up against that for forever. People still think that.’
King even admitted that it affected her dating life.
King’s last marriage ended in 1993, and has not publicly confirmed any relationship since then
‘I used to say, “You’ve got to do a show on this because it’s hard enough for me to get a date on Saturday night with people thinking we’re gay,”‘ King said.
But dating younger men? That’s something she has confirmed about herself before.
In 2024, after making the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, King went on the Tamron Hall show and talked about wanting a younger man.
But just like this time, she clarified that she didn’t want someone ‘too’ young.
Regarding a potential partner’s age, she said, ‘Would like it to start with a five, and I don’t wanna be a nurse or a purse. I don’t want that.’
‘I [would] like it that they have all of their teeth. That would be nice,’ she continued.
‘Because it’s not really about money, guys. It’s about somebody who has their own business, their own thing.
‘They’re very confident in their own skin. You know, I remember once being told by my ex, ‘I’ll be tired when this Gayle King s**t is over.’
‘So you want somebody who celebrates you, who is excited for you, who is very comfortable in their own skin. And that is very difficult.
‘But no pity party for me. I’m really okay.’
King was married to William Bumpus for 11 years before getting divorced in 1993.
Since then, the only time she was romantically linked to someone else was to Senator Cory Booker in 2006, but even then nothing was confirmed.
