Oprah & John Tesh Had "Jungle Fever"? Tesh Confirms

Kitty Kelley the "Queen" of Celebrity Biographies has done it again people!

Kelley has finally completed her new book about Oprah Winfrey, "Queen" of Talk Show Hosts.

According to Amazon.com, Kelley's book is now no.19 for Pre-Orders.

Wait a minute!

Isn't Oprah the Host who always proclaims to be "so open" with her fans?

Well...

Looks like girlfriend didn't share everything!

Oprah sure didn't tell us about her "jungle fever" thing with John Tesh.

OMG!

Its alright girl I won't hate.

Oprah is still on top with me.

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John Tesh Confirms He Once Dated Oprah Winfrey


John Tesh acknowledged Monday that he and Oprah Winfrey were once an item - one of the juicy tidbits in a new tell-all biography about the talk show queen.

"Oprah and I were cub reporters in Nashville nearly 40 years ago and we dated for a short time," Tesh told the News, which first reported the story on Sunday.

The odd pairing is revealed in Kitty Kelley's "Oprah," which hits bookshelves Tuesday.

Exclusive excerpts obtained by the News said Winfrey and the New Age musician were live-in-lovers during the 1970s when they both lived in Nashville.

The book claims Tesh bolted in the middle of the night because of the "social pressure" of being half of an interracial couple.

Neither Tesh, 57, nor Winfrey, 56, would comment on Kelley's claim.

The much-anticipated book says that Winfrey mentioned Tesh during a 1996 taping of her show - but copped only to a platonic dinner date.

"We remain friends to this day," Tesh told the News.




Kitty Kelley's Tell-All Book Reveals John Tesh Bolted On Lover Oprah Winfrey


Before Oprah loved Stedman, there was John Tesh.

An exclusive excerpt from Kitty Kelley's upcoming tell-all Oprah Winfrey biography claims the talk-show queen enjoyed a 1970s romance with an unlikely live-in lover: John Tesh.

The towering 6-foot-6 Tesh and a barely out-of-her-teens Winfrey shared her Nashville apartment until he bolted in the middle of the night, according to the first-ever look inside the book, obtained by the Daily News.

According to Kelley, the "social pressure" on an interracial couple in Tennessee at that time proved too much for Tesh to handle.

"He said one night he looked down and saw his white body next to her black body and couldn't take it anymore," another Tesh ex-paramour told Kelley.

"He walked out in the middle of the night. ... He told me he later felt very guilty about it."

Winfrey spokeswoman Angela DePaul said Saturday that Oprah was not commenting on the highly anticipated book. A phone call and an e-mail to Tesh's spokespeople were not returned.

The book, due out Tuesday, already ranks No. 19 on the Amazon.com best sellers list based on pre-orders.

Tesh worked in Nashville at the same time as Winfrey during the mid-'70s.

Future media mogul Winfrey was just 20 when she joined the staff at WTVF-TV in Nashville. Tesh was a news anchor and future "Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak was a weatherman at rival WSM.

Kelley - best known for her withering biographies of Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan and Elizabeth Taylor, among others - said the pair lived together "for a short time" before Tesh's midnight moveout.

By 1976, both had moved on - Winfrey to Baltimore, and Tesh to WCBS-TV in New York.

Both went on to bigger and better things: Tesh hosted "Entertainment Tonight" from 1986-1996 before leaving the show to become a full-time New Age musician.

The six-time Emmy winner now hosts his own nationally syndicated radio show, has written a number of books and continues to tour.

Kelley mentions that Tesh appeared with Winfrey on the 10th anniversary of her show in 1996, with Oprah claiming the pair shared one platonic dinner date.

Tesh is married to actress Connie Sellecca, while Winfrey remains connected to longtime beau Stedman Graham.

The excerpt also references Winfrey's mid-'70s fondness for junk food - especially chocolate Ding Dongs - and a local restaurant called The Chicken Shack.

Winfrey and co-anchor Harry Chapman would dine on the spicy chicken, seasoned with cayenne pepper and Tabasco sauce, between weekend newscasts, according to Kelley.


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Sources: Amazon.com. Fox News, MSNBC, NY Daily News, NY Times, Today Show, Wikipedia, Google Maps