Dr. Phil on Oprah's Revelation About Her Half-Sister
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Oprah Winfrey made the surprising revelation on her show on Monday that she had a half-sister who had been unknown to her for close to 50 years. Now, ET talks to Dr. Phil McGraw to get his take on the disclosure.
"We talked about this and she wants me to share her thoughts with ET and the ET viewers," Dr. Phil says. "This is a real celebratory moment for her. What a wonderful thing when you can bring family back together in a positive way. It is celebratory in that she found a sister she didn't know about -- a sister who wasn't really looking for Oprah. She was looking for her mother."
TV's top doc goes on to say that he feels that Oprah and her half-sister Patricia are taking their time to build a relationship and he feels they are off to a great start.
"Relationships aren't defined biologically," he says. "You build a history. With that history comes the bonding and the relationship. Right now, this lady just looks a lot like Oprah's sister who passed away. My advice has been to relax and just let this unfold and learn about each other. Share some life experiences."
As for what this means for Oprah's mother Vernita, Dr. Phil says, "Oprah has said that her mother was stuck in 1963 with a lot of guilt and shame for having placed a child for adoption. With this happening in this way, what a terrific gift of freedom it is for her mother with her feelings about all of this."
