Oprah Winfrey played a pivotal role in ensuring her longtime best friend Gayle King's son William Bumpus Jr.'s proposal to his girlfriend Elise Smith went smoothly.
In a sweet video, taken before her 36-year-old got down on one knee and popped the question to the love of his life, the CBS Mornings co-anchor, 69, could be heard asking for the media mogul's opinion on where the engagement photographer should stand to capture the moment.
'What’s your suggestion, Oprah, on where [the photographer] should be?' King asked her pal, who sported a sweatsuit and Peloton fanny pack.
The former talk-show host helped instruct the photographer, named Brett, on where to hide while taking photos of the happy couple agreeing to spend the rest of their lives together.
![Oprah Winfrey played a pivotal role in ensuring her longtime best friend Gayle King's son William Bumpus Jr.'s proposal to his girlfriend Elise Smith went smoothly](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/01/81752367-0-image-a-33_1708995923976.jpg)
Oprah Winfrey played a pivotal role in ensuring her longtime best friend Gayle King's son William Bumpus Jr.'s proposal to his girlfriend Elise Smith went smoothly
Once they secured 'the right spot' and Smith accepted Bumpus Jr.'s proposal, the lovebirds met up with their loved ones to celebrate the milestone.
King shared pictures and videos from the day on her Instagram account with her more than one million followers.
'It has happened! Favorite son @willgb3 has found his person and I now have a favorite daughter-in-law to be: The lovely @elisemariesmith!' she captioned the slideshow. 'There were a lot of cooks in the kitchen and a lot of planning went into this moment, so here’s some behind the scenes…now just waiting for the date of the wedding!'
One image showed Winfrey and King, alongside other friends and family, watchign the proposal unfold through a window.
King's comment section was filled with well-wishes, including messages from Sharon Stone, Viola Davis and Oprah Daily's account.
'Why am i so excited,' Stone, 65, asked while Davis, 58, wrote: 'Beautiful!!! Congratulations ❤'
King shares her son with her ex-husband William Bumpus, whom she was married to from 1982 until 1993.
The exes are also parents to a daughter, named, Kirby, 34, who recently walked down the aisle during a small ceremony at godmother Oprah's home in December, 2020.
![In a sweet video, taken before her 36-year-old got down on one knee and popped the question to the love of his life, the CBS Mornings co-anchor, 69, could be heard asking for the media mogul's opinion on where the engagement photographer should stand to capture the moment](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/01/81752385-13129393-In_a_sweet_video_taken_before_her_36_year_old_got_down_on_one_kn-a-94_1708998497856.jpg)
In a sweet video, taken before her 36-year-old got down on one knee and popped the question to the love of his life, the CBS Mornings co-anchor, 69, could be heard asking for the media mogul's opinion on where the engagement photographer should stand to capture the moment
!['What¿s your suggestion, Oprah, on where [the photographer] should be?' King asked her pal, who sported a sweatsuit and Peloton fanny pack](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/01/81752373-13129393-_What_s_your_suggestion_Oprah_on_where_the_photographer_should_b-a-93_1708998497854.jpg)
'What’s your suggestion, Oprah, on where [the photographer] should be?' King asked her pal, who sported a sweatsuit and Peloton fanny pack
![The former talk-show host helped instruct the photographer, named Brett, on where to hide while taking photos of the happy couple agreeing to spend the rest of their lives together](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/01/81752387-13129393-The_former_talk_show_host_helped_instruct_the_photographer_named-a-92_1708998497851.jpg)
The former talk-show host helped instruct the photographer, named Brett, on where to hide while taking photos of the happy couple agreeing to spend the rest of their lives together
![Once they secured 'the right spot' and Smith accepted Bumpus Jr.'s proposal, the lovebirds met up with their loved ones to celebrate the milestone](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/01/81752371-13129393-Once_they_secured_the_right_spot_and_Smith_accepted_Bumpus_Jr_s_-a-95_1708998497857.jpg)
Once they secured 'the right spot' and Smith accepted Bumpus Jr.'s proposal, the lovebirds met up with their loved ones to celebrate the milestone
Kirby wed -time FAMU alum and former Marching 100 drum major Virgil Miller in front of just six people during a 'super small service' as they abided by 'strict covid rules.'
A year later, they welcomed a son, named Luca Lynn.
King has a close relationship to both her children, and previously expressed her fears for her son as a Black man in America.
In 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, King said she 'worried' about him while appearing on The Talk.
Despite her son living in Santa Monica, which she described as a 'very affluent town,' the journalist shared they she feared for his safety just 'walking his frickin' dog.'
![King shared pictures and videos from the day on her Instagram account with her more than one million followers](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/01/81752375-13129393-King_shared_pictures_and_videos_from_the_day_on_her_Instagram_ac-a-97_1708998497879.jpg)
King shared pictures and videos from the day on her Instagram account with her more than one million followers
!['It has happened! Favorite son @willgb3 has found his person and I now have a favorite daughter-in-law to be: The lovely @elisemariesmith!' she captioned the slideshow. 'There were a lot of cooks in the kitchen and a lot of planning went into this moment, so here¿s some behind the scenes¿now just waiting for the date of the wedding!'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/01/81752389-13129393-_It_has_happened_Favorite_son_willgb3_has_found_his_person_and_I-a-96_1708998497858.jpg)
'It has happened! Favorite son @willgb3 has found his person and I now have a favorite daughter-in-law to be: The lovely @elisemariesmith!' she captioned the slideshow. 'There were a lot of cooks in the kitchen and a lot of planning went into this moment, so here’s some behind the scenes…now just waiting for the date of the wedding!'
King recalled asking him: 'Will, please, don't walk [your dog] Scott. Please, don't take him for long walks.' She also advised him not to wear a black mask when he steps out of his home.
'I worry for him being a black man, period,' she said. 'And now everybody is so amped up about everything. I do, I worry a lot about his safety...Welcome to being black in America. This is not new.'
Winfrey is the godmother of both of King's children.
The two ladies' friendship dates back more than 46 years when they met in the early 20s while working at WJZ-TV in Baltimore in 1976 —Winfrey as a news anchor and King as a production assistant and writer, according to Yahoo.