Monday November 23, 2009

OPRAH Winfrey is “teetering on the edge” after her lover Stedman Graham and her best friend Gayle King have all but deserted her, it has been claimed.

The media mogul — who announced Thursday her plans to end her highly rated The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2011 after 25 years — has been breaking down in fits of tears as her popularity plummets and she continues to gain weight at an alarming rate.

“Nothing is going right in Oprah’s life, and she’s not used to that,” a source told American tabloid the National Enquirer. “And to make matters worse, the two people she counts on the most to prop her up are keeping their distance.

“Facing the reality that she just isn’t as popular as she once was is just devastating to her. It really hits her self-worth.”

The source also revealed a likely explanation as to why Winfrey decided to end her reign as chat show queen.

“Oprah was basically told the money wasn’t there for her in syndication any longer and she would have to sign a greatly diminished deal for her to continue,” dished the insider.

The insider added that Oprah and Stedman — who have been together since 1986 — rarely see each other.

“Oprah had long dreamed about the two of them retiring together eventually, enjoying their golden years together,” said the source.

“But now it seems they have little to talk about. If it isn’t a scheduled, professional event, they’re hardly ever together.”

Oprah’s relationship with Gayle is also beginning to sour, the Enquirer, claims because King is fed up with rumors she and Winfrey are really closet gay lovers.

“I’ve never seen her so down,” added the Winfrey source. “Ratings never mattered to Oprah as long as she was number one.

“Now, she’s realizing she’s on the downside of her career — and the two people she counts on the most to get her through it have let her down.”

Tags: oprah winfrey