Oprah Winfrey Jokes Stedman Graham Was 'Late to the Party' as He Quarantines in Their Guest House
Oprah Winfrey is not messing around when it comes to social distancing.
The mogul did an Instagram live with O, The Oprah Magazine from her Santa Barbara home this weekend where she revealed longtime partner Stedman Graham is currently holed up in their guesthouse due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“He’s at the guesthouse, because you all know I had pneumonia late last year…I had just gotten off of antibiotics last week, because I had a bronchial infection,” Winfrey explained.
While Graham, 69, does not actually have the virus, Winfrey, 66, said he was “one of those” who was “late to the party” about realizing the need to social distance as the coronavirus pandemic spread through the country and the world.
“‘I don’t see what everybody’s getting so upset about!’ That’s what Stedman was saying…and that’s why Stedman’s at the guest house!” Winfrey said.
“Stedman did not arrive from Chicago until Thursday, he had been speaking in St. Louis…he’d been on planes, so Stedman is like ‘What’s the procedure for coming home?’ The procedure is…you ain’t coming and sleeping in my bed!” Winfrey added. “And literally, he goes, ‘I’m not?’ And I go, ‘Have you not been paying attention to the news? Social distancing does not mean you go and sleep in the same bed with the person! When you just got off American Airlines!'”
Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Moet & Chandon Stedman Graham and Oprah Winfrey
Winfrey’s longtime love is still getting plenty of quality time with her, as she brings him breakfast and dinner daily and they have “love chats” through the window.
“My friends say ‘Oh, isn’t Stedman upset?’ He’s really not. He’s happy to keep me safe,” Winfrey added.
Earlier this year, Winfrey opened up about their unwavering relationship, explaining in an essay for O, The Oprah Magazine that had she and Graham gotten married, “we would not still be together.”
Winfrey shared that she once believed she did want to get married, but when Graham proposed in 1993, after the two had been dating since 1986, she quickly realized, “My life with the show was my priority, and we both knew it.”
She recalled simply wanting to be “asked” for her hand in marriage rather than really going through with it.
“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. My life with the show was my priority, and we both knew it. He and I agree that had we tied the marital knot, we would not still be together,” Winfrey explained.
