One thing to know about Gayle King if you want to date her: don’t ask her for a loan.
In a recent interview on The Pivot Podcast, the 69-year-old Maryland native opened up about her dating life. The well-renowned journalist, who divorced assistant attorney general Bill Bumpus in 1993, stated that her fame has made it difficult to date.
“What’s difficult is that people say, ‘Oh, you’re so intimidating,’” she revealed. “Somebody said to me once, ‘Gayle, look at your shoes … look at your bag, look at your coat. You’re friends with Oprah [Winfrey].’ A guy looks at that and says, ‘I can’t compete with that.’ But my thing is, it’s not a matter of competing. I’m not looking for someone to compete.”
She continued: “You want somebody who has a sense of humor, who’s very secure,” she added. “Who’s not intimidated by whatever all of this is that just sees you for you.”
The CBS anchor who shares a daughter, Kirby, and a son, William Jr., with her ex-husband said she has been looking for love since her divorce and explained why she had to dump her last boyfriend.
“I went on a date. I was really excited, very excited about it,” she began. “We’d gone out maybe two months and then he said he really needed to talk to me. He wanted to have a private conversation…[he said,] ‘Do you think you could lend me $4,000?’ I’m like, oh God.”
She told the story to her best friend, Oprah Winfrey, who she said gave the most epic response.
“You know what Oprah said, ‘God, I would have felt better if he had said $40,000,” King explained. “I was so crushed because he was somebody who was making, you know, six figures, successful. And when I said, you know, could I ask what it’s for? He said, Yeah, it was for a child support issue and to pay a payment on some furniture. [And I said to myself] ‘Oh God, this is just getting worse.’”
King admitted that she did loan the man the money, but by that point, she had lost interest. It “didn’t feel the same.”
“So in answer to your question, is it difficult to date?” the author and media mogul said. “Yes, I think so.”
