# I have GOT to know why Oprah didn't marry. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 9, 2006, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994 "2006-05-09T00:57:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/1 "2006-05-09T00:57:18Z")
Tomorrow, May 9, 2006, Oprah will have Lance Armstrong’s ex wife on her show. Not sure what they have to discuss but there is a teaser line of the show in which Oprah says, “That’s _exactly_ why I never got married.” Now I’m not a fan of this attention whore (Oprah). I think I’m indiferent to her when I’m feeling most generous. But I would love to hear from whoever happens to watch this show what her reason is _exactly_. Should be good for a larf. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/2 "2006-05-09T14:47:21Z")
Just a reminder bump for anyone who might be watching that windbag today. I don’t know why I care but it just seems so absurd that Lance’s ex wife will be on Oprah to talk about what a terrible husband Lance was. I’m surprised she hasn’t visited The View yet so they other 4 or 5 witches could tear him apart as well. Breaking News! Lance Armstrong, winner of 7 Tours de France is a self absorbed asshole who only cares about his athletic career, loves his mom too much and spends too much time with his buddies cycling in Europe. …and oh yeah, his insufferable ever since his recovery from cancer and that damned foundation he’s established to fund cancer research. But I speculate. Can’t wait to hear how Oprah is going to make this all about herself again. :rolleyes: (Hope I don’t have to eat crow later…) ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/3 "2006-05-09T14:49:39Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > (Hope I don’t have to eat crow later…) Nah… Too easy. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/4 "2006-05-09T16:27:40Z")
Actually, I heard an ad for her show this morning which left me curious. There was a reference to someone who’s getting married in a month, has spent $60,000 (USD, I assume) on the wedding, and is already considering divorce. 😕 Is this true? Could someone who watches the show clue me in? It seems to me that, if you’re considering divorce before the marriage, maybe you shouldn’t marry. It also seems to me that if my fiance went on national television to say he was considering divorce, _I’d_ be the one calling off the wedding. I’d ask how you spend $60,000 on a wedding, but I don’t think I want to know the answer! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/5 "2006-05-09T16:29:40Z")
**Siege** : The average cost of a wedding in the U.S. is around $25,000. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/6 "2006-05-09T16:34:45Z")
:Avowed cheapskate faints dead away: I will _not_ spend more on my wedding (if I have one) than I did on my car! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/7 "2006-05-09T16:35:30Z")
Vaginismus apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/8 "2006-05-09T16:42:57Z")
If I may be so bold to guess the reason before the show, I’d say it is because both Armstrong [and his fiancé, popsinger Sheryl Crow,](http://marriage.about.com/cs/celebritymarriages/a/lancekristin.htm) both have such busy careers that their partner can’t be the first priority in their life. And that would be something she has in common with Ophrah. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/9 "2006-05-09T16:43:59Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > **Siege** : The average cost of a wedding in the U.S. is around $25,000. I’d like to know where that figure comes from (not jumping on you **Johnny** - I’ve seen that statistic around a lot, too. Just questioning its veracity.) I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone spending near that much on a wedding. Now, I know it happens, but is that really the “average”? I know that I could put on a pretty swanky affair for around $5K. Of course, I’m in a small town and options are limited - but $25K as an average seems very high. Anyone got any cites to back that up? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/10 "2006-05-09T16:46:53Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > If I may be so bold to guess the reason before the show, I’d say it is because both Armstrong [and his fiancé, popsinger Sheryl Crow,](http://marriage.about.com/cs/celebritymarriages/a/lancekristin.htm) both have such busy careers that their partner can’t be the first priority in their life. And that would be something she has in common with Ophrah. No, this is the ex-wife, whom he dumped for Sheryl Crow, with whom he has subsequently broken up. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/11 "2006-05-09T16:56:29Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I’d like to know where that figure comes from (not jumping on you **Johnny** - I’ve seen that statistic around a lot, too. Just questioning its veracity.) > > I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone spending near that much on a wedding. Now, I know it happens, but is that really the “average”? I know that I could put on a pretty swanky affair for around $5K. Of course, I’m in a small town and options are limited - but $25K as an average seems very high. > > Anyone got any cites to back that up? [Source:](http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/20/pf/weddings/) Engaged couples can expect to hear more than the “bling bling” bouncing off the bride-to-be’s ring – they’ll also hear the ka-ching of the cash register as the average cost of a wedding soars to $26,327, according to a new survey. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/12 "2006-05-09T17:02:06Z")
AIR, Oprah’s parents were never married. Maybe it’s genetic. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/13 "2006-05-09T17:07:35Z")
Isn’t it because Stedman is “a confirmed bachelor”? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/14 "2006-05-09T17:16:12Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I’d like to know where that figure comes from (not jumping on you **Johnny** - I’ve seen that statistic around a lot, too. Just questioning its veracity.) > > I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone spending near that much on a wedding. Now, I know it happens, but is that really the “average”? I know that I could put on a pretty swanky affair for around $5K. Of course, I’m in a small town and options are limited - but $25K as an average seems very high. I was about to say that I saw it on a CNN report last year, and **stpauler** comes up with a link! 🙂 I was shooting wedding videos last year, and several of the weddings looked to be high-dollar affairs. There’s a surprising amount of money in this area. A couple of the weddings were at the Semiahmoo Resort. A couple of others were at the Bellweather. There was one at a golf course, and there was an Aston-Martin Vanquish in the parking lot. (I hope the guy had a towel to clean it off after I looked at it.) I don’t know the prices of things that go into a wedding. I do know that we charged $1,500 for the video, and that our prices were among the lowest in the area. The wedding gown? I don’t know. $5,000? The venue itself might cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. The caterers generally had nice presentations and the food was good, but a lot of the food looked fairly inexpensive to make. Even with catering staff, I’m sure they’re making a bundle. There’s the DJ. Do bridesmaids and groomsmen pay for their own outfits? Going over to look at the link now, I see that there’s nine grand in their little table. I haven’t read the link at the bottom of the article with sample weddings. ---
**Author:** ![Elret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Elret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elret)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/15 "2006-05-09T17:24:41Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I know that I could put on a pretty swanky affair for around $5K. Of course, I’m in a small town and options are limited - but $25K as an average seems very high. > > Anyone got any cites to back that up? I don’t know where the original statistics came from, but I sure believe it. I know it’s absolutely possible to have a wedding for much less, but I spent about $13000 and I can tell you where the money went on my (believe it or not quite modest) wedding: My clothes (dress, lingerie, veil, shoes, makeup, hair) - $600 Flowers (my bouquet, my hair, bridesmaids bouquets, boutonnières, corsages) - $600 Rings - $500 Hall rental (including centrepiece rentals and chair covers) - $2500 Invitations (including stamps) - $600 Marriage Licence - $100 Open Bar (for 150 people) - $2000 Dinner ($30 a plate for 150 people) - $4500 Favours - $300 DJ - $700 Photographer - $800 Officiant - $200 I honestly was really very frugal, and got absolute bargain prices on a lot of this stuff. I can totally see how a smaller event, or a less “traditional” or formal one would cost less, but I can also see how it adds up in a hurry – add in a limo, or a cake, or any number of weddingy stuff we decided against, and it stacks up. Without making it a much more casual affair, or sacrificing the number of guests, I can’t possibly imagine how I could have done it for $5000… Just out of curiousity, **Athena** , what would the wedding you could spend $5000 involve? ---
**Author:** ![Mouse\_Maven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Mouse\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mouse_Maven)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/16 "2006-05-09T17:34:54Z")
> [@Siege](#): > > Actually, I heard an ad for her show this morning which left me curious. There was a reference to someone who’s getting married in a month, has spent $60,000 (USD, I assume) on the wedding, and is already considering divorce. 😕 Is this true? Could someone who watches the show clue me in? It seems to me that, if you’re considering divorce before the marriage, maybe you shouldn’t marry. It also seems to me that if my fiance went on national television to say he was considering divorce, _I’d_ be the one calling off the wedding. I’d ask how you spend $60,000 on a wedding, but I don’t think I want to know the answer! :eek: I don’t watch the show, but this part had me curious. I have been complaining about my wedding (which is later this month) and I can’t imagine spending \*\*that \*\* much. Mouse’s Wedding so far: Dress (Found on clearance 😃 ) $100 Venue - $800 Catering $600 Flowers $350 Cake $100 Of course, my beloved and I have pissed off people (mostly my mother) by cutting back on things. We kept the wedding small, 30 people. No “propressional” photographer, the groom is an amature photographer and wants too take the pictures. No music, the venue is in a residential area and we don’t want to voilate noise ordances. No limo, don’t want one. There is a lot of drama, and if you want to please everybody, the price can go up. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/17 "2006-05-09T17:39:51Z")
> [@Siege](#): > > Actually, I heard an ad for her show this morning which left me curious. There was a reference to someone who’s getting married in a month, has spent $60,000 (USD, I assume) on the wedding, and is already considering divorce. 😕 Is this true? Could someone who watches the show clue me in? It seems to me that, if you’re considering divorce before the marriage, maybe you shouldn’t marry. It also seems to me that if my fiance went on national television to say he was considering divorce, _I’d_ be the one calling off the wedding. I’d ask how you spend $60,000 on a wedding, but I don’t think I want to know the answer! :eek: Eh…I have a girlfriend who wanted a big wedding and married the biggest asshole that ever darkened Planet Earth. He was wingin’ empty booze bottles at her on the honeymoon and she chased him out of the house for good (with a shotgun) before their 4-month anniversary. Happens a lot. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/18 "2006-05-09T17:42:07Z")
The _average_ cost is $25k which includes some very high end affairs that are well into the six figures. The median cost will probably be much lower. This is also probably the average cost of a wedding _reception_ so weddings at the courthouse or with Elvis in Las Vegas don’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/19 "2006-05-09T17:47:14Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Isn’t it because Stedman is “a confirmed bachelor”? Actually, I think it is because Oprah is “confirmed bachelorette” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994/20 "2006-05-09T17:54:01Z")
I would be surprised if Lance’s exwife trashes him on tv, since she keeps writing columns for Runner’s World magazine in which she mentions that he is the love of her life and her soulmate. She seems to think he’s going to come back to her someday. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-got-to-know-why-oprah-didnt-marry/355994.md?page=2)