NEWSOprah Winfrey Admits Barbara Walters' 'Complex' Relationship With Daughter Jacqueline Was 'One of the Reasons' She 'Never Had Children'
Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey were good friends as fellow 'trailblazers' in the television broadcast industry.
Oprah Winfrey has shed some light on why she never became a mom.
While speaking about her late friend Barbara Walters in the upcoming Hulu documentary Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything, the famed talk show host admitted The View alum's own experiences in motherhood partially caused Winfrey to never want children.
Why Oprah Winfrey Didn't Want Children
Oprah Winfrey said Barbara Walters was part of the reason she 'never had children.'
"I remember her telling me once that there's nothing more fulfilling than having children, and 'You should really think about it,'" Winfrey recalled of Walters — who passed away in 2022 at the age of 93.
"And I was like, 'Okay, but I'm looking at you, so, no,"' The Oprah Winfrey Show alum confessed, as Walters had a bit of a rocky relationship with her daughter, Jacqueline, at one point after adopting her in 1968 with her second husband, Lee Guber.
Barbara Walters Had a 'Complex' Relationship With Her Daughter Jacqueline
Barbara Walters briefly had a rocky relationship with her adopted daughter, Jacqueline.
Walters and her only child briefly clashed when she was a teenager, with her daughter even running away from home at one point for a month.
Winfrey said Walters' "complex" and "charged" relationship with her daughter was "one of the reasons why I never had children."
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Oprah Winfrey Felt She Had To Choose Between Kids and Fame
Oprah Winfrey felt having kids would have negatively impacted her career.
The Color Purple actress gave Walters props for being able to be a mother while managing her successful career, as Winfrey felt she had to choose one or the other.
"You are a pioneer in your field and you are trying to break the mold, for yourself and for women who are going to follow you. Something's going to have to give for that," Winfrey explained. "And that is why I did not have children. I knew I could not do both well."
"Both are sacrifices. Sacrifice to do the work and it's also sacrifice to be the mother and to say, 'No, let somebody else have that,'" she declared. "At no time have I ever heard a story, read a story, and based on what I know of Barbara Walters — at no time has Barbara Walters ever said, 'No let someone else take that story.'"
Oprah Winfrey Honored Barbara Walters After Her Death
Barbara Walters died in 2022 at age 93.
Winfrey and Walters kept a close friendship until the late Today star's passing in 2022.
At the time of Walters' death less than three years ago, Winfrey shared an emotional tribute for her pal, writing in part: "Without Barbara Walters there wouldn't have been me — nor any other woman you see on evening, morning, and daily news."
"She was indeed a Trailblazer. I did my very first television audition with her in mind the whole time," Winfrey remembered. "Grateful that she was such a powerful and gracious role model. Grateful to have known her. Grateful to have followed in her Light."
