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Oprah Winfrey’s Big Secret: “I Have a Half-Sister!”

Talk show host, Oprah Winfrey announced on Monday (January 24th) on The Oprah Winfrey Show that her “bombshell family secret” was that she found out she had a half-sister in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

When Oprah was 9 years old and living with her father in Nashville, she had no idea her mother, Vernita Lee was pregnant.

Vernita gave up the child at birth and kept her a secret.

Oprah and Her Mother

Patricia Lloyd, the single mother of two, found out about the bloodline link in 2007 and was thanked by Oprah for not going to the media with the information.

She discovered her relation to Winfrey after years of searching for her birth mother.

That birth mother declined meeting her, but Patricia’s son Andre overheard a news report about Oprah Winfrey’s mom giving details about her other children.

The other children had passed away, and their names were Patricia and Andre.

Patricia knew she shared a name with a sibling and eventually got a DNA test proving her relation to that sibling’s daughter, Winfrey’s niece.

Oprah’s best friend, Gayle King told ABC News,

“Here’s a woman who legitimately had a story to sell and didn’t. She was trying to find her mother. Oprah, of course, just turned out to be a bonus.”

The media mogul appeared on Gayle’s talk show Tuesday  to talk about her future relationship with her newfound family member.

Speaking on her new found sister Oprah told King,

We’re taking it slow. I think it’s about building a relationship one conversation – one experience – at a time. I think we have…the common interest of our mother. Everybody who’s dealing with an ailing parent understands that process of getting care for them. And we’re speaking regularly about that. I had her to dinner at my house the night before we taped the show. There were conversations about [Patricia’s] family and how I can be helpful. She coming into the family at this time has been a great peace offering, a great symbol of peace-making in this family. I would say I see her as a gift.”

Patricia most likely feels like she found a gift as well.

 

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