After crossing “traveling to space” off her bucket list, Gayle King has her sights set on something a little more down to earth: falling in love again.
The 70-year-old news anchor opened up about her desire for a relationship during a recent conversation with WNBA star A’ja Wilson at TIME magazine’s annual Year in TIME event in New York City on Dec. 10, according to People.
During the discussion, King shared that she’s still looking for her own “great love story,” after Wilson, 29, spoke candidly about how she and partner Bam Adebayo stay connected amid demanding schedules and “show up for each other in so many ways.”
The admission comes in a year where marriage — real or imagined — has followed King in headlines. In October, the “CBS Mornings” anchor shut down speculation that she had secretly gotten married after AI-generated images depicting her with a ring — and a total stranger — began circulating online.
“Been getting a lot of texts, a lot of messages, stories online that I got engaged,” King said at the time, as the images appeared onscreen. “Take a look at me with a big ring on my finger. There’s a lucky man — I have no idea who he is.”
King went on to clarify that the viral photos were created using artificial intelligence.
“These AI-generated images have been making their way across the internet,” she said. “So I’m here to say exclusively on CBS Mornings, I’m not married, not even engaged.”
The “Note to Self” author added that the situation was especially awkward, as she’d been flooded with congratulatory messages about a romance that didn’t exist.
“People have been saying, ‘Congratulations,’ ‘Love really happened to you,’ ‘I’m so happy for you,’” King recalled. “I’m not married or engaged. Believe me, if I was, you’d hear it here first.”
King was previously married to attorney William Bumpus from 1982 to 1993. The former couple share two adult children, daughter Kirby Bumpus, 39, and son William Bumpus Jr., 37, who celebrated his nuptials in June 2024 in the backyard of media icon — and King’s longtime friend — Oprah Winfrey.
