Source: MICHAEL TRAN / Getty
Gayle King got the surprise of a lifetime and it’s all thanks to her BFF, Oprah Winfrey.
King thought she was attending a simple holiday party with Winfrey on Saturday, Dec. 14 but she walked right into a birthday party thrown in her honor. King was visibly shocked, throwing her purse on the bar and clutching her chest as a large yelled “SURPRISE!”
Invitees were given an invitation from Oprah herself to surprise Gayle and show up wearing “glamorous cocktail attire with a touch of yellow or gold.” And the evening was glamorous indeed. Guests included Angela Bassett, Tina Knowles, Ava DuVernay, Dave Chappell, David Oyelowo, and more! King’s children, Kirby Bumpus, 38, and William Bumpus Jr., 37, were also in attendance.
Before cutting a four-tiered gold cake complete with sparklers and a topper in Gayle’s likeness, Winfrey took the mic and addressed the crowd with a heartwarming speech dedicated to her best friend.
“There’s nobody in the world like Gayle King,” Winfrey gushed as the crowd responded with cheers. “Next year marks a half a century that we’ve been friends and in all those years, there’s never been an argument, a disruption or any kind of jealousy or bad feelings.”
Fifty years of friendship is no small feat and throughout Winfrey’s speech, she reveals some insight into what makes her friendship with King so strong, and it’s wisdom we all can take with us to make our relationships last.
No Bad Feelings
It’s hard to be friends with someone when you don’t really like them. Conflict and conversations are normal, but constant arguing, betrayal, breakups, and makeups do not a strong friendship make. In the half a century that Winfrey and King have been buddies, there’s never been “an argument, a disruption, or any kind of jealousy or bad feelings.” Friendship should feel good and be good for everyone involved.
Be a Support System
“We have been in sync, in each other’s corner, supportive of one another, looking forward to the best that could happen for each other,” Winfrey said about her friendship with birthday girl Gayle King. Life gets hard sometimes and it’s important to have a friend in your corner (or be that friend in someone else’s corner) who believes that you deserve the best that could ever happen.
Celebrate Each Other’s Wins
It’s no secret that both Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King are successful. And that may be thanks to the best friend they each have rooting for them behind the scenes. Winfrey praised King as “the one person in my life who has always been just, more overjoyed for anything that happened to me.” When your bestie wins, you win, too!
Live Your Own Life
Being best friends forever doesn’t mean you all have to do or be interested in the same things. Both Winfrey and King are award-winning broadcast journalism legends in their own right but they are not copying or competing with one another. In fact, they’re doing exactly what they want and what they’re meant to do. They’re on their own journeys! As Winfrey said during her speech, “The fact that [Gayle] now sits in the seat on CBS Mornings [sic], it is exactly the seat she is supposed to hold in the world right now.” Winfrey and King are living their own lives, they’re exactly where they’re supposed to be, and they’re giving the world the best version of their individual selves.
Bring Joy and Happiness Into Each Other’s Lives
Winfrey closes her speech saying “The world is a better place from the joy that Gayle King brings everyone” and that joy is a key to creating lasting relationships. Friendships should be happy and fun and full of life and joy that spreads to everyone around. Just as King brings joy into the lives of her friends and colleagues. Whether that’s through shared hobbies or interests, or just being a positive light in each other’s lives, let joy be the center of your relationships.
King will turn 70 years old at the end of the month on Dec. 28 and there’s no doubt the memories of her birthday celebration and her friendship with Winfrey will last through the month and well into her new year. Happy Birthday, Gayle!
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