Oprah Winfrey reveals her ‘one regret' — and what she should've done instead

Oprah Winfrey built an entertainment empire and an iconic talk show, but the legendary former host does have one regret when it comes to her career.

Winfrey shared some advice and reflection with Al Roker as the TODAY weatherman turns 70, including the one time she wishes she had a "do-over."

"I would not have taken on the responsibility of trying to build a network while still ending the show," she told Al in an interview that aired Aug. 20 on TODAY. "That is my one regret. That is my, 'I should’ve handled all of that differently.'"

“We’re both in broadcasting,” Al said. “We hate dead air.”

Winfrey, 70, wrapped up her nationally syndicated talk show after 25 years in 2011, while also launching the Oprah Winfrey Network in the same year.

"I should’ve completed one thing, taken a year to do nothing, and then decided what was the next thing for me to do," she said. "I made a decision that it was time for the show to end. I don’t regret that. What I do regret is trying to do multiple things at the same time.

"I would’ve done the thing that I tell everybody else to do," she continued. "When you don’t know what to do, do nothing. Get still with yourself and do nothing. I would’ve given myself that time."

Winfrey regrets taking on too much by listening to others instead of her inner voice.

"I thought to give myself a break, and other people were saying, 'Oh no, you just have got to leverage this moment, and you got to keep moving up,'" she said. "Everybody has that natural life force instinct inside yourself that lets you know what’s right or wrong, or that is your emotional GPS system.

"And any time I’ve ever gone against that — any time — is when I’ve made a mistake."

Winfrey has learned with experience to not let life get too sped up.

"Every time I’ve just gotten still and listened to what my gut said, what that still small voice that resides inside me, and you, and everybody else says, I have never made a mistake," she said.

The entertainment icon also opened up about what it would be like if she was starting a talk show in 2024.

"It was a different time," she said. "I often think about this just even in terms of the Oprah show, and the immense range of subjects that we covered on a daily basis. We were just talking about what was going on in people’s lives in a real and meaningful way.

"Raising children, overcoming cancer, stepping away from abuse, just every single imaginable dysfunction in our culture, that 'Oprah Winfrey Show' was able to address in a way that allowed people to see the best of themselves, and the possibility (for what) could be." 

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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