Surprising family and friends who gathered at their Santa Barbara home for what they believed was one of Oprah’s famous get-togethers, Oprah and Stedman stood in front of their nearest and dearest and made their love official.
‘Absolutely no-one saw it coming,’ reveals an insider. ‘Stedman and Oprah really value their love and life together and they wanted to be able to share this moment in a really simple, private way that honoured that.’
Sporting a simple white frock that showed off her latest weight-loss efforts, Oprah, 64, proved to be a beaming bride as she said ‘I do’ to Stedman, 67, her ‘rock’ of 31 years.
‘There was not a dry eye in the house,’ says an insider. ‘Everyone had given up on seeing these two tie the knot, and to see them standing there together declaring their undying love after all these years was really special for everyone who was there to witness it.’
And while it may have taken the groom over three decades to finally call Oprah his wife, Stedman says has never had any doubt that the media mogul was the one for him.
‘I’m with a very special person who is – she’s just so unbelievable,’ he says.
‘I just support her in her life. And she supports me in my life.’
Read the full story in this week's issue of New Idea, on sale now.