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Gayle King is opening up about a previous experience with a man she dated and his request for help with child support.
According to the New York Post, the 69-year-old television host recently appeared for an interview on ‘The Pivot Podcast.’ During her appearance, King opened up about what’s been “difficult” for her in the dating realm.
The outlet reports that King has not been in a public relationship since her 1993 divorce from Bill Bumpus.
“What’s difficult is that people say, ‘Oh, you’re so intimidating,'” she reportedly explained, per New York Post. “Somebody said to me once, ‘Gayle, look at your shoes … look at your bag, look at your coat. You’re friends with Oprah.’ A guy looks at that and says, ‘I can’t compete with that.'”
King shared that she isn’t looking for someone to “compete.” Instead, she’s looking for someone who isn’t “intimidated.”
“You want somebody who has a sense of humor, who’s very secure,” she said. “Who’s not intimidated by whatever all of this is that just sees you for you.”
As the conversation continued, the 69-year-old opened up about her most recent dating experience. She explained that she went out with her former boo, and he asked her to have a “private conversation.”
“I went on a date. I was really excited, very excited about it. We’d gone out maybe two months, and then he said he really needed to talk to me,” she explained. “He wanted to have a private conversation… [He said,] ‘Do you think you could lend me $4,000?’ I’m like, oh God.”
King explained that she was “crushed” by the man’s request.
“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.'”
According to Decider, King noted that their conversation occurred on a Sunday, and the man promised to pay her back by Thursday. She ultimately complied. However, she explained that their relationship no longer felt “the same” after, even though he paid her back on time.
“I wrote it [the check] because I thought it had to be very difficult for him to ask me, and I just figured that would be that. And he did pay me back on Thursday, but it didn’t feel the same… It just changed the relationship for me. So, in answer to your question, ‘Is it difficult to date?’ Yes, I think so,” she concluded.
Social media users have since taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their reactions to King’s experience. Some users disagreed with King’s choice to loan the money her money.
While others didn’t see any fault in the man making the request.
One X user seemed to criticize King for sharing her experience publicly after rejecting the man.
While another X user defended the television host.
Meanwhile, one X user didn’t see an “issue” with either party.
