Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty
Oprah Winfrey clearly cares about her man of nearly 30 years, Stedman Graham, and in these coronavirus times, caring means moving Mr. Graham into the guesthouse.
Oprah made this perfectly clear in a recent Instagram Live interview with Oprah Magazine’s digital director Arianna Davis. She talked about how she’s social distancing from Stedman, particularly because of his travel habits and her health history.
“He’s at the guesthouse, because you all know I had pneumonia late last year…I had just gotten off of antibiotics last week, because I had a bronchial infection,” Oprah explained. She said that Stedman was “one of those” who was “late to the party” about comprehending just how serious the global coronavirus pandemic has become. “‘I don’t see what everybody’s getting so upset about!’ That’s what Stedman was saying…and that’s why Stedman’s at the guest house.”
To be clear, Stedman doesn’t have the virus, according to Oprah Magazine. However, there were some recent flights and business travel that concerned Oprah.
“Stedman did not arrive from Chicago until Thursday, he had been speaking in St. Louis…he’d been on planes, so Stedman is like ‘What’s the procedure for coming home?’ The procedure is…you ain’t coming and sleeping in my bed! And literally, he goes, ‘I’m not?’ And I go, ‘Have you not been paying attention to the news? Social distancing does not mean you go and sleep in the same bed with the person! When you just got off American Airlines!'”
Luckily Stedman wasn’t salty about the new rules. According to Oprah, the author and entrepreneur was happy to distance himself from Oprah so that her health can be protected. Meanwhile, Oprah and her two “daughters” Thando and Sadé — who are graduates from her school in South Africa — are staying together, and they’ve been bringing Stedman breakfast and dinner daily. Oprah and Stedman even have “love chats’ with Oprah standing outside his window. “My friends say ‘Oh, isn’t Stedman upset?’ He’s really not. He’s happy to keep me safe.”
Oprah and Stedman’s approach to coupledom during the coronavirus stands in complete contrast to how actor Idris Elba and his wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba have been handling it. The two faced major criticism when Idris revealed that he tested positive for coronavirus and Sabrina still chose to be around him. By Sunday of this week, Sabrina revealed that she too had the coronavirus. The two still defended their decision to be together.
In an Instagram Live interview with Oprah, Idris explained that he and his wife had been together the day he was probably exposed to a person who had tested positive.
“If I had caught it, she had certainly caught it in that time period, as well,” Idris told Oprah. “People were right to have highlighted that spatial distancing is important. I think given the context of the video, which was telling the world what has happened to us, we weren’t thinking about that specifically.”
Luckily, the two said they feel well and aren’t exhibiting symptoms other than what Sabrina described as possible seasonal allergies.
“I could have made the decision to put myself, maybe, in a separate room or stay away, and I’m sure that people are making those decisions. And they’re tough decisions to make,” Sabrina said when talking about her decision to stay near Idris. “But I made the decision to want to be with him and, you know, still touch him.”
It seems the coronavirus will definitely test the dynamics of a couple’s relationship. Hopefully, all the couples out there will make the decision best for them.
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