How Oprah Winfrey’s longtime partner Stedman Graham has ‘supported’ her weight loss journey

Oprah Winfrey’s longtime partner Stedman Graham has loved her through her weight loss journey

Winfrey reflected on how Graham stood by her side during every step of her health transformation in an interview with People published Tuesday.

“He has absolutely been nothing but supportive through all of it,” Winfrey shared.

The former talk show host, 71, said that she and Graham, 74, met at a time when she weighed 200 pounds.

“And it’s never made one iota of a difference,” she gushed.

While Graham never suggested that he ever wanted her to lose weight, Winfrey recalled feeling embarrassed by her size when she was at her heaviest.

In 1988, she and Graham attended a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Michael Spinks. The announcer revealed that Tyson’s weight was 218, leading Winfrey to feel self-conscious.

“Wow, here’s this handsome guy sitting with somebody who weighs as much as the heavyweight champion of the world,” she remembered thinking while seated next to Graham.

In her new book, “Enough: Your Health, Your Weight and What It’s Like to Be Free,” Winfrey wrote that she recalled feeling “sorry” for Stedman in that moment. However, she later realized that the shame she was feeling was in her head.

“He was with me at my heaviest,” she said, admitting that their relationship has only gotten stronger since she’s trimmed down with the help of GLP-1 medication.

“I’ve seen all of my relationships improve because the energy and presence and vitality and clarity that I bring to them is so different,” Winfrey said. “I just feel like I have more to give to everybody.”

Winfrey’s weight has fluctuated throughout her career, though she started looking significantly trimmer in 2023. After months of public Ozempic speculation, Winfrey confirmed in December 2023 that she turned to a weight loss medication to manage her health.

“I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself,” she told People at the time, adding, “I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing.”

She also praised the medical prescription, saying that having the option as a tool to live a healthier life “feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for.”

The “Color Purple” actress told the outlet in this week’s cover story that the medication has also helped her quit drinking alcohol.

“I literally had 17 shots one night,” she admitted. “I haven’t had a drink in years. The fact that I no longer even have a desire for it is pretty amazing.”

Winfrey, who said she used to be able to “outdrink everyone at the table,” feels like a new person.

“I hardly recognize the woman I’ve become. But she’s a happy woman,” Winfrey said.

More importantly, the OWN founder has stopped shaming herself for her weight loss struggles.

“I thought it was about discipline and willpower. But I stopped blaming myself,” Winfrey explained. “I feel more alive and more vibrant than I’ve ever been.”