Oprah Winfrey to televise her wedding

Los Angeles - Oprah Winfrey (58) is planning to televise her wedding to long-time boyfriend Stedman Graham (61) to boost the viewership of her TV channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).

The National Enquirer tabloid quoted unnamed insiders saying Winfrey is "pulling a Kardashian" – a reference to the made-for-television wedding spectacle in which reality star Kim Kardashian tied the knot with Kris Humphries last year for a marriage which lasted only 72 days.

The events leading up to the $100m wedding, including Graham's bachelor party, would allegedly be chronicled on OWN to try and lure more viewers to the channel. According to a friend of Graham, Winfrey offered her boyfriend of 26 years a prenuptual agreement of millions of dollars as well.

Viewers want to see her

While the shows that Winfrey appears in herself are doing well with regards to viewership, like her talk show Oprah's Next Chapter, the rest of OWN's channel line-up is not making a dent in the ratings.

According to a television industry insider familiar with the situation, Winfrey has finally realised that the shows she worked hard to create are not attracting viewers as intended.

"Oprah's realised that the shows she's created are just not attracting interest – the fans want to see her. So she's devised a secret plan to save OWN by getting married to Stedman on live TV."

The proposal

According to a friend, Winfrey asked Graham and told him of the TV wedding plan at her California estate.

Graham will be giving Winfrey his late mother Mary's engagement ring. "While the diamond is apparently small, it has sentimental value that will make her feel proud to wear it," said the source. 

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