Every time a new episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show airs in 2010, we will blog along with it. If you have plenty of time, read the long version. If you are pressed for time, read the “What we learned today” summary. If you are really, really pressed for time, read the Twitter-sized summary.

Archive for June, 2010

Date: June 9th, 2010
File Under: Celebrity, Public Service Announcement
76 comments

Episode 85: Sarah Ferguson Speaks Out About the Headline-Making Undercover Video

Oprah sits down with Sarah Ferguson and asks her how it feels to be in the eye of the storm. Sarah says that the fear is not real, so she has to calm down her heartbeat rather than going into an anxiety attack. She says when you look back at what you did, that person is unrecognizable. Oprah spoke to Sarah on the phone yesterday and it is her understanding that Sarah has not seen the tape. Sarah has seen parts of the tape in airports, but she hasn’t sat down to watch it all. Oprah says that she is going to play it now, and that Sarah can have whatever response she wants and be as truthful as she can be.

The video plays showing Sarah agreeing to be paid large amounts of money for access to Prince Andrew. She is drinking and smoking. The video is 3 minutes long, at the end of the tape, Sarah takes the computer case with $40,000 inside.

Sarah thanks Oprah for showing that to her, and she speaks in the third person about the person on the video who looks so tired and exhausted. She says that she had drunk too much, she thinks she was drinking wine. She had been on the road for so many months that she is now in the gutter, she is exhausted. She tried to be prefect for 25 years. As a 12 year old she made food her friend.

Oprah says that it is interesting that Sarah talks about the person in the tape as “she” in the third person and that Sarah said that it’s sad, really sad. Sarah says that there aren’t that many words to describe an act of such gross stupidity. She just called her girls and they said that it is a fresh clean start. Sarah says that she is a good mum and that her daughters can learn from her mistakes. She has got to the middle of the onion, all the skin has been pulled away and that people are seeing the dark and light of Sarah merged together. She has made a mistake and has to forgive herself, she is in the eye of the hurricane right now. Oprah says that this video made her sad because by the time you get to this point you have been spiraling downwards to this point. Sarah thanks her for realizing that.

The video tape was seen around the world. This is the first time that Sarah has seen it all. She says that she was not drunk, but she had been drinking. She remembers that she was in floods of tears when she was rubbing her eyes. The interviewer had come recommended by a friend of hers. A friend needed $38,000 urgently, and Sarah was crying thanking him for helping the friend who also knew the interviewer. Sarah says that this is about how her actions have hurt millions of people, she believes that from this she has freed Sarah from the treadmill of her life. Diana, her mother and her best friend all died at the same time and she felt very alone.

Three weeks prior to this, a friend called and said that she had a friend who liked Sarah, who wanted to help Sarah. She said that the friend was recently divorced with 3 kids and wanted her advice. The journalist took on the identity of a man in India who was a family friend of her friend, a big business man in India. They met earlier and talked about his fictitious wife and children. Oprah asks her to clarify why she would meet a stranger to talk about his wife and problems. Sarah says that a friend introduced them and that the man wanted to help her invest in her children’s books and animations. He was introduced as a business man. In her first meeting she thought that he was a News of the World journalist, and she had him sign a confidentiality agreement. She thought then that she wouldn’t see him again.

She says that she instinctively knew that he was a reporter, and she told him that. She says that she met him again in London, he said that he had just flown in for dinner. She sent friends to have him sign a confidentiality agreement and he said he’d do it in the morning when his lawyer was available. She went ahead anyway, that is how desperate she was.

Oprah asks how come Sarah doesn’t have access to $40,000, and says that it seems incomprehensible to the world. Sarah says that she is divorced from the royal family and cant ask them for money. She did WeightWatchers work for 12 years and loved that, and then she started a business but it was built on sand. She is substantially in debt, she says. She is sort of aware of the number, she thinks that she has a huge uphill battle. That is why she now has to look at bankruptcy now, but before she was looking for a quick-fix in places that she wouldn’t normally look.

Oprah wants to be clear that Sarah started this encounter to help a friend not herself. Sarah says that initially she did it for a friend and then she took a long shot to try and get money for herself. The News of the World say that they received a tip that Sarah had done something like this before. Sarah said that she doesn’t think she has, no she never has done that. Oprah asks why Sarah thinks that they set up this sting to get her? Sarah says that they are still in the middle of it, and that she has been a hugely idiotic, over-trusting woman.

Oprah says that Sarah was in a room with someone that she had instinctively not trusted asking for $500,000. Sarah says that she got to the point where you sabotage yourself and you are out of control. She hopes that people will be able to see that she was out of control and at the end of the rope. It is her and it is extraordinary to see it, she will embrace it and beg herself and the universe for forgiveness. It happened and now she has to find a way forward.

Oprah asks how she heard that it was a sting. She was on the way back from France with Beatrice when she heard. Sarah was ashamed and didn’t want to leave the room, but her daughter looked at her with her big eyes and said, “Mum, why did they do this to you?”

Oprah asks what Prince Andrew has said. Sarah wouldn’t dream of quoting him, but he is one of the finest gentle men. Andrew is a man that has always taken a matter of fact view of everything and he knows her and he reached out with such understanding. She has spoken to him many times, he wouldn’t be here without his blessing. Oprah asks if her family was aware of the spiraling and the pain. Sarah says that there was self-hatred and chronic abuse and not understanding who you are from an early age. Oprah asks if Sarah has been living beyond her means. Sarah says that she has been living as the Duchess of York, trying to keep it up. Sarah says that she has out of control behavior, running up huge debts all those issues have to be looked at. She didn’t have a plan for the $500,000, because she plucked it out the sky just sitting there. She says that the whole thing was wrong, even sitting down for dinner was wrong.

Oprah asks Sarah if it is true that she got a settlement of $20,000 a year from her divorce. Sarah flounders a little and says that she can’t break her confidentiality clause but she chose friendship with the boss, the Queen. It was more important to her to keep in with the family. Her work with WeightWatchers was her financial income. She lives now with the Prince because she couldn’t afford rent on her house. It is a short term agreement, Sarah does not want to be a burden on Andrew, he needs his life, they are divorced. Sarah has the same expenses as everyone else, and she has written lots of children’s books. Oprah is surprised that Sarah went to the Book Expo last week, but Sarah says that she must go forward from this point.

Oprah asks if Sarah will continue the charity work. Sarah says that charity work is the safest place for her, the innocence and goodness of dying children can not be negated. She has 72 schools where she learns from the true celebrities, the children. She learns from the child who forgives the person who cut his leg off. Her grandmother always said if you feel bad about yourself, give to others. Sarah says that Oprah of all people should understand that. Oprah says that she understands that sentiment. Sarah says that her Dad died of melanoma and prostrate cancer, when she was on her way to a job in Australia. She went to see him and said he didn’t look too good and he said that the show must go on. Sarah cries a little and says that the show must go on.

Oprah says that none of us are defined by our mistakes, what defines us is if we get the lesson and move forward. Oprah asks Sarah if she has learned the lesson that the spiraling was there to teach her. 1000% says Sarah, but her words are cheap, her actions will show. Oprah asks what the lesson for her has been, for her and God. Sarah says that the lesson has been chronic abuse to herself, she hasn’t dealt with her issues, she has kept going when she should have stopped to address her problems.

Oprah asks why Sarah made the decision to out herself and have this conversation with Oprah rather than go home and wait it out. Sarah says that to go to that level of gutter, you have to address why and you have to apologize. She has to say sorry. Oprah asks how the lesson begins to manifest itself, we cant just wake up and say ok today I am going to love myself. Sarah says that she is like a newborn chick, whenever anything now comes in, like a bill or an article, she is going to look at it and deal with it from a place of Sarah, not from a place of egotistical fear. Already she says going bankrupt is not the worst thing that could happen.

Oprah says that she just had an epiphany- looking at Sarah on the tape, that was a spiritually, morally, bankrupted person. Sarah says that is genius. It’s just a show, they agree. Sarah says that she remembers a wonderful lady in Sierra Leone who said that they can take your country but they can’t take your soul. She feels that she can come back from this, that she is now being authentically herself. Oprah asks if she’d like to say anything else, and Sarah thanks Oprah. That’s all. They thank each other and hold hands.

WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY:

If you are caught on camera asking for $500,000 in exchange for access to your ex-husband, you are in a bad place.

Sarah Ferguson speaks about herself in the third person when watching the video of her trading money for access.

Being an ex-Princess is not financially rewarding.

Oprah had what she called an epiphany- the person on the tape was spiritually and morally bankrupt.

Sarah says that observation is genius.

A VERY QUICK SUMMARY:

Being stung by a News of the World journalist has freed Sarah Ferguson from the treadmill of her life.

Date: June 8th, 2010
File Under: Betrayal, Public Service Announcement
154 comments

Episode 84: Women Who Claim They Were Child Brides in the USA

Standing behind Oprah are 4 women who share a secret. Jeanne is 31 and works the front desk of a popular hotel. Amy is 26 and is a working mom. Desiree is an 18 year old who wants to be an FBI agent. Nikki is a 26 year old bartender. They have only been identified as Jane Doe 1,2,3, and 4 in the federal court. They are bonded by a deep dark secret, so heinous that its hard to imagine it can happen right here in America.

The four women were all born into the Tony Alamo Christian Ministry. Some say that he is a crazy madmen. In the height of the church’s popularity, there were thousands of followers. By the nineties, Tony had more than a dozen wives at the small compound in Fouke, Arkansas. Many followers believe that there is no higher honor than becoming one of Tony’s wives. When she was 14, Amy became Tony’s wife. When she was 15, Jeanne became his 8th wife.

Jeanne says that he had 13 wives, over half were minors and he had sex with all of them. He preferred the younger ones. She had painful sex with him four days after their marriage. She believed that God wanted her to be Tony’s bride. Tony shocked even his most devoted followers when he chose 8 year old Desiree to be his bride. She was the youngest, she was still playing with Barbies and dolls. He laid her on his bed, they said marriage vows and gave her a wedding ring. She says that instead of a marriage license he finalizes his marriages by having sex. On CNN, Tony justified it by saying that puberty is the age of consent according to the bible. He then said he doesn’t know what age girls go through puberty, maybe age 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. God inseminated Mary around age 10 or 12. “Should we get him for having sex?” he asked. Desiree thought that what Tony was doing was wrong, but that he was a man of God so maybe it was right.

Jeanne was 15 when 59 year old Tony made her his spiritual wife, she is now 31. Amy exchanged vows at 14, she is now 26.  Desiree was only 8, now she is 18. Nikki was 15, she is now 26.

They went to Fouke, Arkansas, to find out who Tony Alamo really is. Reporter Lynn LaRowe of the Texarkana Gazette has been covering his story for years. In LA in the late sixties, Tony said that God appeared before him and told him if he didn’t spread the word, he would surely die. Alamo married Susan and they set up the Tony and Susan Alamo Foundation. He would do guest appearances as a gospel singer on her TV evangelist show. When she died of cancer, Tony kept her body in his dining room, and that is when people say that his dark side was unleashed.

Elishah, a former member of the ministry says that they had to pray over Susan’s decaying body for two years to make her raise from the dead. Her eyes and mouth were sewn shut and someone kept dusting her and reapplying her lipstick. When Tony announced that it was their fault that she didn’t raise from the dead, they were devastated. The followers were blinded by their devotion and were physically and psychologically exhausted, so there was no room for independent thought. The compound moved to Fouke, Arkansaw in the late 90’s. The mayor says that they didn’t know if those in the compound were armed, their minds just wandered.

Inside the house, he destroyed many lives. Tony Alamo did not respond to a request for an interview, but his church sent the following statement.

“Tony Alamo has no secret world or child brides. He is the least secret person in the world. His church and he are open daily to the public, and he is very outspoken, as an open book. Oprah and the government media and the Roman Catholics are in conspiracy against him and his whole church.”

Some have compared Alamo to David Karesh in Waco, Texas. Both led suspicious anti government organizations that many call cults. Tony controlled every facet of his congregation’s lives, using violence and threats of eternal damnation. The town were concerned about what was going on there.

Before Jeanne was born, her mother was 12 when her grandmother joined the church. Jeanne knew Tony as their pastor, she had not been introduced to him. Her family did not see it as an honor, for her to be a child bride, but they had put their whole life into the ministry and they didn’t know if Tony really was of God. Jeanne lived in the house. Amy was told that she should work in his office, that is how it started for her. Amy’s mom thought that it was a great honor- she was always told as a child that she would marry Tony. At 8 years old, Desiree was playing with dolls, wanted to go outside and go swimming and play with her friends. She was raised in the church, but she knew nothing of sex or marriage. It wasn’t exactly explained to her what was happening. Her mom said that Desiree was unruly and possessed by the devil. After a couple of months of being in the house to be disciplined, Tony laid her on his bed and started putting his hands up her shirt and down her pants. Desiree was told that the most important prayer was that of a child; she prayed that it would stop but it didn’t. Just before she turned 9, Tony asked her to marry him,and she said yes as she was afraid of him. He had sex with her once or twice a week and it went up and down a lot. Oprah asks the others what they thought of Desiree as an 8 year old bride. Jeanne says that she questioned him that day, even if she would be beaten. She said that he was not doing what he preached, that Desiree had not yet reached puberty. Tony said profanities and he said God will tell his prophet to do things that everyone will question but no one had better question.

Oprah says that at 14 or 15 you are a little more advanced in the world than an 8 year old. Prior to moving to the house, Desiree had a good childhood. She couldn’t call her parents more than twice a week. She needed permission to visit, she was only able to visit them twice.  In the house, they were as fearful of Tony as anyone can be of a person. They would get hit all the time, his face was crazy as they were beaten. They had to take nude photos for him, and he would take photos of them too. Jeanne would lock herself in the bathroom and cry so hard that she’d break blood vessels in her face. She would pray that God would take her in her sleep as she didn’t believe in suicide but she no longer wanted to live.

Nikki goes back to the compound with the TV crew. Nikki was chosen to be his next child bride, and she risked it all to escape that fate. She thought if this was heaven, she’d rather go to hell. She returns to the compound for the first time. It just looks like a home, but hell was inside there. Utter, utter hell. She implores people to pay attention and poke their nose into other people’s business. That is what they desperately needed, and nobody interfered.  If they hadn’t talked, it would still be going on. Tony would be sitting in there with the next line of little girls.

Last year they faced Tony in federal court, he was found guilty with trafficking minors across state lines with the intent of having sex with them.  Going against their families, friend and the church they testified against him and he is facing a sentence of 175 years. Oprah says that everyone has an internal guideline system which they should follow. If something seems odd at home or at a neighbor’s home, make it your business.

Oprah applauds their courage, Nikki was the first to break free. She realized that it was all a lie when Tony hit her in the face after she made an unauthorized phonecall to try and get out. He sat in front of her telling her the things that God had said about her, that she was a prostitute and a whore and other outlandish things. Then she thought that is all a lie. They were so brainwashed that they were told that they and their families would go to hell if they left. Oprah says that for her this is about intuition and guidance knowing that something is right or wrong. These girls were raised in one way but their inner guide told them to question that, to think that something is wrong.

To escape Tony, Nikki first had to escape his spell. He controlled his followers with violence and manipulation. Nikki found the courage inside herself to risk it all to get out of there. She shows where she escaped from the side door. A follower tells them to get off the property. She tells how she ran from the guards and Tony’s cameras and hid in the woods. He sent everyone out to look for her in every shop and fast food joint. She met Vince and Karen Coker who lived at the final house, they took a leap of faith and took her in for the night, They bought her a bus ticket so she could get back to her mother in California. Nikki thought that her mom would figure it all out, but she didn’t realize that her mother was being controlled by Tony and his followers. On the phone, Tony told Nikki’s mum Liza that she should have Nikki arrested otherwise Liza would have to leave the church too. The mom said to Nikki that Tony wouldn’t let her on the property. She had two boxes of stuff labelled Nikki’s stuff. Her mom put her on a bus and hugged her goodbye and walked away. One of the saddest moments of Niki’s life, that absolutely broke her heart. Liza now says that she was out of her mind to let it happen like that. Liza is no longer involved with the Alamo Ministry.

Oprah can’t imagine how that must feel, to risk her life, be helped by strangers and to be turned away by her own mother. Nikki says that it is very hard to understand if you have never been brainwashed. Her brother, mother and father were all part of the church. If her mother had left the church, she would have been abandoning her brother. Her mother thought that Nikki would be ok.   Some of them still have siblings in there, in hiding. Nikki went over the country for 3 months trying to find somewhere to stay.

Desiree had nothing when she escaped, no ID at all. For 2 years from 13-15 she had been planning to leave. She told the girls that if Tony got her Dad to come over and beat her again for trying to leave, that she would leave. She called all the doctor’s that she had ever seen to get her medical records so that she could exist in the real world. She knew that at 13. Jeanne was not a minor anymore so Tony couldn’t force her to stay. She was very vocal, she thought that she could question him in front of others, the congregation and other wives. She told them that they were beaten, he made them watch pornography, and told of the photographs. She said all she could in five minutes and then he asked her to leave.

Amy was married to Tony for nine years and her mom is still part of the church. Amy doesn’t talk to her mom now, Amy thinks that her mom hates her because she testified against Tony. In the courtroom her mother called her a stinking weasel.

Amy and Desiree‘s mothers both testified against them in court.  Oprah asks what that does to them. Desiree said it was really hard. She hadn’t seen her mom for 3 years and she got up and called her daughter a liar. Oprah says that we are all outraged by the way that Desiree had been treated. Her mom thinks, still, that Tony is a man of God, and that he would never do something like have sex with an 8 year old girl.

Nikki reunited with the two strangers who helped her, she calls them her angels. They hug and cry. Nikki doesn’t know what would have happened without them. The Cokers vividly remember the night Nikki came to their door. Nikki was very scared, she didn’t trust anyone. She was all cut up from the fences and the woods. Nikki had nothing, not even clothes.

The Cokers join Oprah live by Skype. Oprah applauds them for helping a child. Karen says she was timid and scared but Nikki needed help. Karen’s motherly instincts kicked in to help Nikki. They had a 9 month baby at the time. The Cokers could tell that Nikki wasn’t being forward with what she was telling them. But she looked like she was scared to death and that she had run for her life. Nikki didn’t want to tell the truth until she was out of Fouke, until she was sure that she wouldn’t be sent back. Oprah congratulates the Coker’s for buying Nikki a ticket and thanks God.

Elishah was the first child born into the cult. Life there was terrifying. Her worst day was when Tony got a close family member to beat her for trying to escape, over and over on the same side. Her back was bloody, she passed out. She saw a glimmer of hope when she was 15 and she met Steven a newcomer to the church. They had a connection. They were caught talking and Steven had to leave. She got a letter from Steven via a member of the congregation saying that he would come for her. He rescued her and they drove over the state line. They married but she had no idea how the outside world worked. Elishah is now a teacher and joins the others on the couch. Jeanne remembers being babysat by Elishah. Elishah says that this is a great victory. She says that the others overcame things that amaze the first generation. She says that the courage to stand up against Tony in court with their mother’s testifying against them is astonishing.

Oprah thanks them all for putting a face to this. The beauty of this is that you are not your past, that you can create from now whoever you want to be. You can use your past to strengthen who you want to be. Oprah says again that if you think something strange is going on in your house or neighborhood, make your voice heard. Sign the No Phone Zone, Thanks everybody.

WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY:

Tony Alamo controlled all the members of his cult with violence and threats of eternal damnation.

He blamed his congregation when after two years of prayer they failed to raise his dead wife from the dining room.

He took spiritual wives by marrying with no legal paperwork, finalizing the marriage by having sex.

Of his 13 wives, the youngest was 8 years old.

If you think something strange is going on in your house or neighborhood, make it your business and make sure that your voice heard.

A VERY QUICK SUMMARY:

Oprah says that you are not your past, that you can create from now whoever you want to be, even if you were once a child bride.

Date: June 2nd, 2010
File Under: Transformation
63 comments

Episode 83: Oprah Says Goodbye to Nate Berkus: The Grand Finale

Well it was 8 years ago on Oprah’s show that a young decorator set foot on their stage- they brought him in him for his incredible style and grew to love him for his big heart. He is known for showing us all how to love the way we live. His new show debuts September 13th, The Nate Berkus Show. He is another son of the Oprah Show- first Dr Phil and then Dr Oz and now Nate, not Dr Nate, but a terrific guy, come on out Nate, says Oprah. They hug.

Oprah asks if it feels like graduation day- it does, says Nate, and it does feel like it has been 8 years. He says that in the pictures of him he looks 5 years old. Oprah says that our homes should rise up to meet us, and Nate takes that further and says that our lives should rise up to meet us- we should love the lives we live. Oprah says she loves that and that she will be watching, even though she doesn’t watch TV.

Nate has performed 127 makeovers over the years, including yards, basements, playrooms, lounges and kitchens. Oprah’s all time favorite is the first one ever. Claudia’s whole house is 319 square feet, with a 6 x 6 foot kitchen. They sent Nate to “un-cramp her style.” In 48 hours Nate and his team worked and worked, Claudia loved it and couldn’t believe her new space. Her studio with no storage is now an innovative home with space to spare. The audience gave him a standing ovation. Oprah says he looked about 11 there. 8 years later Claudia is still living in her teeny Boston pad. She still gets chills thinking about it. She still can’t believe how beautiful it is. She loves that everything has a double function- she can entertain easily. She has left everything in its place, she wants it exactly as Nate left it. She wants Nate to know that he is a genius who transforms lives as well as spaces.

Oprah says she loves her home in California which is over 3000 square feet- when she leaves she literally says goodbye to the house and the furnishings because she loves it so much. Oprah’s housekeeper loves her own house as much as Oprah loves her house. Nate says that your house should be a reflection of who you are, you are what you live. Your house should rise to meet you.

Nate was nervous the first time he did a makeover on the Oprah Show. They didn’t order a dumpster, There was no place to put what they took out or all their trash. He ran after a garbage truck at 4.30am offering $100 or $200 for them to take all the trash away. He was terrified that the headlines would be about the trash.

Oprah asks his best advice for how to live big in small spaces. Everything has to be multifunctional- double or triple duty. He doesn’t like to use small scale pieces because they remind you that the space is small. A large sofa is more gracious and gives you more places to be.  Oprah is surprised.

They show extracts of makeovers that Nate has done, where no one has changed anything at all that he did in the years afterwards. Nate is not nervous about his new show- he is ready and excited. That is good says Oprah, thats how she felt when the Oprah Show went national. Bring it on, she said. They show Nate going to Mr and Mrs Brown’s house to bring the 45 year old kitchen into the 21st century. He also rescued the Couch family and their country frou-frou clutter. Both families were dazzled by the makeover. Oprah loved the green ceiling, she says that it was a bold move. Oprah does not like white ceilings. The Police Chief Officer got a lot of flack for the stuffed animals on his bed, he got his office stuffed with animals when he got back. The Couches have transformed the rest of their house, room by room according to Nate’s advice. Nate loves that they were inspired to update and modernize. Oprah said that she realized she had dried flowers for ten years in her home in Indiana, it is an easy trap to fall into.

Some of Nate’s top tips include: Pillows, a rug and a slip cover can be bought for the price of a new pair of shoes.  New drapes in a neutral color can transform your space. Hanging window coverings higher than the window, and wider, gives the illusion of bigger windows.

In 2003 Nate gave a back yard makeover to the patio, and the giant hill which was like a cliff in Lauren’s house. They had to level the hill. The Davenport’s were dazzled by their outdoor living room. Oprah says that this makeover took her breath away when she saw the bill, it made her scream. Leveling is a key word to either move or go to the bank, says Nate. Dirt and mature trees are expensive.

2 years ago, in the biggest Oprah makeover in history, Nate blew the roof off a house outside of Seattle. In 15 days he raised the roof and almost doubled the square footage. Everyone screamed when they saw what he did to the house. He transformed the cramped living area for the whole family. The master bedroom took up the entire floor, and the four kids all finally had their own rooms. The kids screamed when they saw their playroom. The entire family is their from Skype, with big news. They have a new baby to add to the family. The baby is currently sleeping in their closet. The master closet was so enormous they couldn’t fill it with clothes so they took out some shelves and put in the crib. The kids love their play area. The house transformation let the family feel that anything is possible, it reminded them all that good things are around the corner, even when times are tough.

They show a montage of people screaming and crying when their makeovers are revealed. Oprah says that Nate has never let them down, he does not disappoint. In 2005 Bernadette, a single mom of 3, was looking after her  kids, her brother’s 7 kids and her elderly mother in an apartment so tint they slept three to a bed. They surprised her with a new house decorated by Nate. In 2004 Sherry’s 80 style bedroom was turned into a timeless classic. Oprah asks for Nate’s all time favorite- he says that it was the Seattle makeover where the community brought them food on the site, doughnuts and Thai food and so on.

Nate’s favorite guest of all time was Brayden. The two year old that he watched for the day, when he played Mommy. For 12 hours Nate did all of Dana’s duties for the day. Nate had a lot of things to do on the list. After 12 hours he felt like he had been hit by a truck. Oprah says that Mothers, Fathers and caretakers need a reward. Nate said on the original show that Mom’s need an assistant, and Oprah said that Mom’s need a wife. The whole family are here, Nate picks up Brayden. Dana says that Nate helped her for a lifetime- when she shops she thinks do you want it, do you love it, will it make you happy? It’s changed her thinking. Nate says that he loved hanging out with Brayden, that the family were great to spend time with and that he has always wanted kids, he loves kids.

They show clips of Oprah repeatedly calling Nate Cutie-Pie. 6 days after Hurricane Katrina, Nate visited New Orleans and helped pet owners who rescued their animals but couldn’t take them on the buses with them. They took a few dogs in a limousine to a house in Baton Rouge where they were staying at Lisa Ling’s friend’s house. They took as many dogs they could and they were all reunited with their owners. Oprah says that everyone on the staff and all the people who he has worked with wanted to express their gratitude for him- so they each wrote a note to him saying what he has meant to them and made it into a special coffee table book. Oprah says that he has enhanced their hearts and lives and that Nate is going to make her so proud, may he continue to dazzle. Nate wipes away a tear and thanks her.

Oprah says that Lowe’s have been there for Nate and Oprah throughout the whole time. Nate says that their dedication is amazing. A viewer named Trudy lost her son Derek who was distracted driving while talking on his cell phone. She says that she was overcome with grief until she watched the show in January where Nate gave advice to another mother who had lost her son. Nate said that he realized that the date has no power, the memory can come when it wants to come, so he took the power back. That resonated with Trudy, she realized that she was remembering Derek with pain and they should have been remembering him with joy. In the audience Trudy thanks him for a personal makeover, wishing that she was their to thank him for a room makeover. Oprah hopes to add the Romeo clause to the No Phone Zone Pledge, in the future. Jonathan, Derek’s brother signed a pledge two years ago to say that he will always drive responsibly and safely and respectfully, not under the influences of anger, substances etc. He will never talk or text while driving and he will respect the privilege of using the car. Oprah thinks that this is great. Trudy wrote this in memory of Derek, Oprah and Nate say that this is the first No Phone Zone Pledge. Nate says that there is always a moment on TV where you decide whether to lay yourself open and reveal your most private feelings. He says that he is so sorry for their loss, but thanks them for thanking him, as something can come from their loss- he knows now when he is out there, people are listening. Derek’s fraternity brothers in the University of Albany in New York have taken the pledge. By Skype one of them, Mike, says that they loved Derek to death and they will do their best to make the family proud. Every chapter of their fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon, the largest in the world, will sign the No Phone Zone Pledge. Oprah wishes them the best and thanks Nate. She says that her son, her boy, has a new show, and she hugs him and wishes him good luck.

WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY:

Oprah’s “cutie-pie” “son” Nate Berkus, is leaving the Oprah Show after 8 years of makeovers to star in his own show, The Nate Berkus Show.

Our homes should rise up to meet us, says Oprah.

Our lives should rise up to meet us, says Nate.

Nate says that your house should be a reflection of who you are: you are what you live.

To live big in small spaces, everything has to be multifunctional- doing double or triple duty.

A VERY QUICK SUMMARY:

Oprah does not like white ceilings and she believes that every Mom needs a wife. Goodbye Nate Berkus!