Oprah Winfrey Reveals Secret To 40-Year Friendship With Gayle King: ‘A True Friend Can’t Be Jealous Of You’

Oprah Winfrey has been friends with Gayle King for more than 40 years, and now she’s revealing the secret to the BFFs’ success. In a poignant Instagram post to announce the dynamic duo’s first-ever O magazine cover shoot together, Oprah recalled how her friendship with Gayle has survived fame, personal struggles, and more—without any major arguments.

Oprah posted a new photo of herself and Gayle, which will serve as the cover for O magazine’s September “friendship issue.”

In the photo, taken by photographer Ruven Afanador, the besties are wearing coordinating shades of gold and beige clothing and makeup.

In the caption to her post, Oprah prefaced her tribute by noting that over the years she has constantly had people introduce their best friends to her as their “Gayle.” Now, Oprah is revealing that her friendship with Gayle works because there is no jealousy between them and because both women are content with their individual lives.

“The reason our friendship has worked for over 40 years, without arguments or fallouts, is that we’ve always been happy with our own lives. A true friend can’t be jealous of you, or want to take advantage of you in any way. Ever since we met in 1976, we’ve been doing the same thing. Listening. Talking. Laughing (a lot). Building dreams. Cheering. Being a shoulder to cry on. Speaking the truth. Being the truth.”

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Oprah elaborated on why her flawless friendship with Gayle — who, in 2011, scored a job as co-anchor on CBS This Morning on her own merits — has lasted so long.

“It’s because she has a life of her own and now people can see that she has a life of her own,” the media mogul said of Gayle and her network news career.

Gayle also took Instagram to share a pic of her stunning cover with Oprah, and she gave her own take on why their friendship is still going strong.

“We’ve been friends since we were 21 and 22… forty plus years later here we are!” Gayle captioned the pic. “We have each other’s backs always I believe it’s called ‘ride or die.'”

Gayle also dished that the pic was originally supposed to be an “inside” shot in the magazine until Oprah demanded that they make it the cover.

Ahead of Oprah and Gayle’s first-ever O cover together, Gayle marveled over the honor, joking to her CBS This Morning co-hosts to ask if anyone “checked with Oprah” for the shared cover space. According to Entertainment Tonight, Oprah has posed for almost every single O magazine cover by herself—more than 230 cover shots.

Oprah and Gayle first met in 1976 when they worked together in the ens department at a Baltimore, Maryland TV station. In the decades since, Gayle has been a frequent fixture on Oprah’s TV shows and she was behind a lavish surprise 50th birthday bash for her best friend in 2004. The duo’s adorable adventures, including a cross-country road trip and Yosemite camping trek, were documented on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

The O magazine September 2019 issue featuring Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King is available on newsstands now.