Oprah Winfrey to Piers Morgan: I contemplated suicide as pregnant teen, drank detergent (Watch Video)

Oprah Winfrey confessed on Monday that she contemplated suicide when she was a pregnant teen.

Oprah Winfrey contemplated suicide when she became pregnant at the age of 14 and even tried to drink laundry detergent in attempt to terminate the pregnancy, she confessed Monday night.

"Getting pregnant was a result of bad choices, not having boundaries, sexual abuse from the time I was 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13," the talk show queen revealed during an interview on CNN’s "Piers Morgan Tonight."

Shortly after the pregnancy, Winfrey’s mother sent the young teen to live with her father in Nashville.

While explaining the strict rules of the household, her father -- not knowing his daughter was pregnant -- declared, "I would rather see a daughter of mine floating down the Cumberland River than to bring shame on this family and the indecency of an illegitimate child."

Fearful, Winfrey thought, "Before the baby was born, I’m going to have to kill myself," adding she did "stupid things like drinking detergent and all that kind of crazy stuff that you do when you’re trying to get attention, when you’re really just trying to cry for help."

In a past interview, Winfrey, now 56, said she "hid the pregnancy until my swollen ankles and belly gave me away." A few weeks later, her baby died in the hospital.

Looking back, Winfrey, who’s now a billionaire with her own cable network, said losing the baby who she "had no connection to whatsoever" was a blessing in disguise.

"When the baby died, I knew that it was my second chance," she said.

Winfrey also confessed she has no plans to tie the knot with her longtime partner, Stedman Graham.

"The reason this relationship has worked as well as it has is because we each got to define ourselves in it and not in a traditional form," she said. "... I am a different kind of woman in that I am pretty assured that had I married I wouldn't have remained married. I'm just not the marrying kind."

Comment

You need to be a member of CaribbeanFever / FeverEyes / CaribFever to add comments!

Join CaribbeanFever / FeverEyes / CaribFever

Comment by deborah rollerson on January 23, 2011 at 9:44pm: Abortion was not legal then I believe, nor would any poor Black girl had any acess to one unlike the rich white girls who got into trouble at that time in society

Comment by mary on January 23, 2011 at 9:31pm: WOW OPRAH PREGNANT AT 14 ? FIRST TIME HEARING IT. SHE DIDNT HAVE TO CONTEMPLATE SUCIDE AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE THOUGH , NOW THEY HAVE ABORTIONS AND BIRTH CONTROL. SHE MADE IT FAR IN LIFE AFTER GOING THROUGH SO MUCH , GOOD FOR HER.

Comment by JamRockLady on January 23, 2011 at 12:40pm

Comment by deborah rollerson on January 23, 2011 at 4:05am: HERE HERE HERE!!!!!!!!

Comment by julianne benjamin on January 19, 2011 at 5:00pm: Oprah is a good woman but back home wen ppl try 2 kill dem self u left dem fe do it bc it c** back fe aut u r u fam

Comment by Action1060 on January 19, 2011 at 9:17am: I read her biography in an attempt to find out what makes her make the choices that she makes. I knew about the abuse but not the child. I wonder where she would be today if the child did not die. I know this sounds like a broken record but having a baby for a guy never keeps him around in a positive way. He would stay around longer if you heald out from giving him any until you were ready and then make sure you don't get pregnant. Nothing gets a guy running faster than, "I'm pregnant".

Comment by bevon smith on January 18, 2011 at 11:34pm: she has every fn sob story there is

Comment by kcrunchone on January 18, 2011 at 7:27pm: Oprah is an inspiration to many and I know I admire her ability and choice of options that she has chosen. Things have lead her to where she is but her choices have truly made her an ICON. I am not a fan of people that claim role models to make their decisions or choices but I can say if I did believe she would be mine.

Dedicated, determined strong black woman.

Comment by maxqueen on January 18, 2011 at 2:38pm: God will make a way when there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see. He was Oprah's guide to be a blessing to many people. NO GOOD THING WILL HE WITHOLD FROM YOU IF YOU WALK UPRIGHT.

Comment by Janice Parker on January 18, 2011 at 1:06pm: Kudos to Oprah...one of the few self-made Moguls who has done her life RIGHT! It takes real guts to stand above the rest and go against the "norm" or what's popular, despite her troubled early years. God has truly Blessed her and she continues to be a Blessing to others. A true Positive Role Model for all Women both Black and White!