Talk show titan, life coach and role model for women everywhere, Oprah Winfrey kicked off her Australian tour on Wednesday night at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena -- revealing her biggest life lessons as well as the name she chose for the premature baby she lost as a 14-year-old girl.
Speaking to an audience of more than 12, 000 fans, Winfrey shared pivotal moments in her career where she interviewed some of the world’s most influential people as well as speaking honestly about her painful past and the sex abuse she encountered as a young girl by various family members.
According to news.com.au, Winfrey said her pregnancy was a result of being raped at 14 which left her feeling so much “pain and shame” forcing her to hide her pregnancy.
“I was raped at nine years old by a cousin, then again by another family member, and another family member,” she said.
In 2011, Winfrey told ‘Piers Morgan Tonight’ she had contemplated suicide as a teenager when she learnt of her pregnancy, citing the stigma of having a child out of wedlock.
“I did an interview with a reporter before I came to Australia and she said you should name the baby son who died,” she said to the Melbourne audience.
“So I have named him, I had a little boy named Canaan.”
“I did have a son. And I named him Canaan because Canaan means new land, new life.”
It’s been five years since the 61-year-old visited Australia.
Winfrey revealed she chose Melbourne to premiere her live ‘Evening with Oprah’ show after her last visit there left her with “a sense of emptiness” -- after she felt she missed the opportunity to leave the crowd with a “little kernel of teaching.”