Oprah Winfrey may love bread, but she’s even more smitten with Stedman Graham.
And that’s why the former daytime TV host recently stepped out with her longtime partner for the 40th anniversary celebration of The Oprah Winfrey Show, marking the couple’s first appearance in nearly a decade.
During the event at Navy Pier in Chicago, Winfrey and Graham, enjoying their first public outing in almost seven years, spent quality time with friends, family and food by Chef Art Smith’s restaurant Reunion.
As Winfrey said in a video shared to the restaurant’s Instagram account while Smith and Graham held up a massive plate piled high with chicken wings, “Hey, Art’s fried chicken!”
For the occasion, Winfrey, 72, wore a pinstriped matching set and white sneakers, topping off her casual look with sunglasses. Meanwhile, Graham, 75, looked dapper as ever in a black suit and dress shoes, which he paired with a white button-down shirt underneath.
And while the couple keep a low profile when it comes to their romance, with their last public event being at Tyler Perry Studios Grand Opening Gala in 2019, Stedman wouldn’t have missed Winfrey’s special milestone for the world.
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“Our Reunion team was filled with gratitude this weekend as we had the honor of hosting Oprah Winfrey and the Harpo Studios crew for a very special anniversary celebration of The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Smith wrote on Instagram Aug. 10. “A true Chicago legend, Oprah has touched countless lives throughout the years.”
The caption concluded, “Here’s to lasting friendships, unforgettable memories, and the people who make Chicago such a special place.”
Winfrey and Graham first met at a charity event in 1986—the same year The Oprah Winfrey Show premiered—and have been inseparable ever since.
Though they’re notoriously private about their connection, Winfrey previously shared why the pair opted not to marry even after Graham proposed in 1993.
“The moment after I said yes to his proposal, I had doubts,” she wrote for Oprah Daily in 2020. “I realized I didn’t actually want a marriage. I wanted to be asked. I wanted to know he felt I was worthy of being his missus, but I didn’t want the sacrifices, the compromises, the day-in-day-out commitment required to make a marriage work. My life with the show was my priority, and we both knew it.”
And supporting each other’s dreams is how Winfrey and Graham’s relationship has stood the test of time.
“The thing about our relationship is I want the best for her,” Graham told Ellen DeGeneres during a rare 2019 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “So, you know, I’m dedicated to her happiness.”
Keep reading for more of Hollywood’s longest lasting relationships.
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