Oprah Winfrey: "I'm Not Gay"  7/18/06

Oprah Winfrey has hit back at ongoing reports she's gay by insisting she would have already told fans if the rumors were true.

The media mogul has often been linked romantically with best friend and business partner Gayle King, but both claim they wouldn't have kept an affair secret.

In the August (06) issue of Winfrey's lifestyle magazine O, the Oprah Magazine, the talk show accepts that some people misunderstand her close friendship with King, but insists they are not a lesbian couple.

She says, "I understand why people think we're gay. There isn't a definition in our culture for this kind of bond between women.

"So I get why people have to label it: 'How can you be this close without it being sexual?'"

King adds, "The truth is, if we were gay, we would tell you, because there's nothing wrong with being gay."

In the article, Winfrey and King chat about their 30-year friendship, admitting they often speak four times a day on the phone when they're not in the same city.

Winfrey states, "Something about this relationship feels otherworldly to me, like it was designed by a power and a hand greater than my own. Whatever this friendship is, it's been a very fun ride."