Media personality, Oprah Winfrey has revealed that the late Barbara Walters played a role in her decision not to have children.
Speaking in the upcoming Hulu documentary Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything, Winfrey opened up about the complicated relationship Walters had with her adopted daughter, Jacqueline — and how it shaped her own views on motherhood.
Walters, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 93, adopted Jacqueline in 1968 with her then-husband, Lee Guber.
However, their relationship was often strained, with Jacqueline once running away from home for a month as a teenager.
Winfrey recalled a conversation in which Walters encouraged her to consider having children.
‘She told me there’s nothing more fulfilling than being a mother, and said, ‘‘You should really think about it,’” Winfrey said. ‘And I was like, ‘’Okay, but I’m looking at you, so… no.’”
She described Walters’ relationship with her daughter as ‘complex’ and ‘charged,’ noting it was ‘one of the reasons why I never had children.’
Reflecting on the balance between career and family, Oprah explained: ‘When you’re a pioneer in your field and breaking molds for yourself and others, something has to give. I knew I couldn’t do both well. Both paths require sacrifice.’
She continued, ‘That’s why I didn’t have children. I didn’t want to half-do either. Barbara never let anyone else take the big stories. She was relentless.’
