Oprah Winfrey has been dating Stedman Graham for 31 years but explains why she has no plans to marry

At 63, Oprah Winfrey has already checked off numerous boxes on her to-do list. She hosted one of the most popular talk shows in television history, was named one of the richest women in the world, is the head of her own network and spends her vacations chilling out with the likes of Barack and Michelle Obama. But the box the entertainment mogul has no interest in checking off is the one on marriage.

In a recent interview with Vogue for its September issue, the businesswoman and philanthropist opened up about her love life and why she has removed a big fat wedding from her plans. Oprah has been in a long-term relationship with businessman Stedman Graham since 1986 and the two are still together 31 years later but explained that she "would not have been able to fit into" the traditional role of a spouse.

"The only time I brought it up was when I said to Stedman, 'What would have happened if we had actually gotten married?' And the answer is: 'We wouldn't be together,'" she said.

"We would not have stayed together, because marriage requires a different way of being in this world. His interpretation of what it means to be a husband and what it would mean for me to be a wife would have been pretty traditional, and I would not have been able to fit into that."

Her decision not to get married has contributed to her understanding of the role of women in society and taught her that one has to "live life on your own terms".

It is not like the couple never considered tying the knot. Graham proposed to Winfrey in the 1990s and the two were set to marry in 1993. However, they decided to postpone it since The Oprah Winfrey Show host was working on a book at the time. "We have never discussed it again," she recalled to Shonda Rhimes in a 2015 episode of SuperSoul Sunday.