Oprah Winfrey reveals Barbara Walters influenced decision not to have children

Oprah Winfrey has revealed that Barbara Walters influenced her decision not to have any children.

The 71-year-old talk show icon has never married nor welcomed any children with long-term partner Stedman Graham, 74 - who she has been in a relationship with since 1986.

Winfrey features in a new documentary about Walters, who died in 2022 at the age of 93, and explains how their conversations influenced her family plans.

PEOPLE shared details about Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything on Friday, recounting that Walters adopted a daughter named Jackie with her husband, Lee Guber.

Noting that Walters and her daughter endured a fraught relationship, Winfrey is quoted as recounting, "I remember her telling me once that there's nothing more fulfilling than having children, and 'You should really think about it.'

"And I was like, 'Okay, but I'm looking at you, so no.'"

The star went on to describe Walters's relationship with Jackie as "complex" and "charged," and revealed it was "one of the reasons why I never had children."

Archive footage of Walters is included in the documentary revealing how she considered her life changed for the better once she adopted her daughter.

She says, "My world came together. I mean, I was already on the Today Show. And I'd had three miscarriages, and now I had everything."

Winfrey has previously explained she does not regret her choice not to marry or start a family.

She told PEOPLE in 2019 that she gained a wealth of insight into the sacrifices mothers made through hosting The Oprah Winfrey Show.

She told the outlet at the time, "I don't have the ability to compartmentalise the way I see other women do.

"It is why, throughout my years, I have had the highest regard for women who choose to be at home (with) their kids, because I don't know how you do that all day long. Nobody gives women the credit they deserve."