Oprah Winfrey Has Been Hospitalized, and the Reason Is Tragic

Oprah Winfrey, 70, was recently hospitalized. The media mogul was set to appear on June 11 to announce her book club selection, but she missed the event because of her illness. Gayle King, who was present during the broadcast, provided detailed information about Oprah’s symptoms.

King explained Oprah Winfrey’s absence from the news program on an episode of CBS Mornings. She revealed that Winfrey needed medical attention due to a severe stomach virus.

“Yesterday she said, ‘I’m going to rally, I’m going to rally.’ She had some kind of stomach thing where — stomach flu where stuff was coming out of both ends. I won’t get too graphic,” King shared.

“But needless to say, she ended up in the hospital. Dehydration, she had an IV, so it was a very serious thing,” King said.

“She will be OK. She will be OK,” King affirmed, and added, “I hope she’s not mad at me for sharing that detail, but I wanted to make it clear that it mattered to her, and it bothered her that she couldn’t be here for you today.”

It’s unclear which day Winfrey was hospitalized, but she or someone from her team took to Instagram to announce the book club pick, Familiaris by David Wroblewski. “Summer is here, and I love to settle in with a big book that takes me through the season,” she wrote in the caption.

In the photo, Winfrey appeared to be in good spirits, holding the book with a full face of makeup and her hair perfectly styled.

Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham, the power couple, have been together since 1986. They got engaged in 1992 but called off the wedding a year later.