The two really opened up during a conversation on “SuperSoul Sunday”.
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She had a chat with the Oprah and during their chat 45-year-old Shonda Rhimes, who is a mother of three, reveals that she has never wanted to get married.
The TV mogul said the expectation for women to get married is similar to the expectation to have children.
“What I figured out was that I was allowing a character to say and do all the stuff that I was afraid to say and do”, Rhimes said. “But if you’re a woman in your thirties or forties, that’s a big deal”. Everybody’s asking you all the time if it’s going to happen … “There’s a huge amount of pressure”. Denise dismissed her excuses and said one simple quote that Rhimes couldn’t get out of her mind for the next month: “You never say yes to anything”. Yang’s famed lines, from “If you want crappy things to stop happening to you, then stop accepting crap and demand something more” to, “If you want to appease me, compliment my brain”, were all the things Rhimes had been wanting to say but didn’t due to anxiety. “And then just first breaking past that initial barrier she had for herself to then have the year of yes and the life of yes, was the most profound and interesting thing to me”. I know the importance of giving medical history and being honest with doctors, and I understand each specialty. Since achieving success with her TGIT shows, she’s been able to tell the difference between potential partners and those who aren’t worth her time.
Oprah also chose to share her own experiences, and why she had made the decision to not get married to longtime boyfriend Stedman Graham.
The event, part of The Times’ Ideas Exchange, took place at Bovard Auditorium on the USC campus and centered around Rhimes’ book “Year of Yes”, released November 10, which focuses on the television luminary’s attempt to become the type of person to say “yes” to opportunities that frightened her and how it revolutionized her life. “We were on our way from the book party and Stedman said he did not want to have his wedding disturbed by all these people asking me about the book (which I ended up not doing)”, Oprah says. The moment he asked me to marry him I was, like…
However, the book never materialised and the pair “never discussed it [marriage] again”.
As it turns out, the delay helped Oprah come to an important realization about herself.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever said this publicly, but I really wanted to be married, too”, Winfrey said. “I couldn’t do it”.
Shonda Rhimes took to the stage Monday night to deliver her wisdom to the masses, in a sit-down conversation with Los Angeles Times critic at large Sasha Frere-Jones. Get The NewsOne Flip App for iPhone: Flip, Skip – Or Send Us a Tip!
As to what the future holds, Rhimes was confident that anything is possible, especially if she continues to say yes to everything that frightens her.
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“There may be a few people who are doing it and who are very happy and who love it. And I am not knocking any of you”, Rhimes says. “Christina Yang is definitely one of my best friends and ride-or-dies, even though she’s not real”, Rhimes laughed. “I always felt like it was a dirty little secret”.
