Oprah Winfrey, 68, has a newfound appreciation for staying active, and it all stems from a double surgery in 2021. Oprah had knee surgery on one leg in August of last year, followed by the other leg in November. She kept the procedures quiet until October 2022, when she opened up about the surgeries at her Oprah Daily Life What You Want class on gratitude.
During the seminar, attendees were asked to write down what they were grateful for, and one response struck a chord with Oprah. One woman said that she was grateful for every organ and limb, which Oprah could relate to. That’s when she shared that she had double knee surgery, which “expanded” her appreciation for her organs and limbs “exponentially.”
“When I came home the first time, I literally could not lift my leg,” Oprah revealed. “I couldn’t lift my heel off the bed and I vowed, if I was ever able to get up, walk around and move again, that I would take advantage of movement, exercise and of being able to be fully in my body.”
During her rehabilitation, Oprah said she took up hiking, which she’s continued to this day. “Every day, I tried to hike more and more,” she revealed. “My appreciation for every organ and every limb has expanded exponentially. So, you mentioning that really brought that home to me.”
Fans were none the wiser about Oprah’s medical issues until she opened up about them in her Oct. 2022 seminar. While she did openly discuss her love of hiking throughout the summer of 2022, Oprah never explained why she picked up the hobby until now. Considering it’s been more than a year since her first surgery and nearly a year since her second, the former talk show host has had quite a bit of time to heal privately.