Gayle King’s Son, William Bumpus Jr., Is Engaged—And Oprah Winfrey Helped Plan This Key Part of the Proposal (original) (raw)

Congratulations are in order for Gayle King, whose son, William Bumpus, is officially engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Elise Smith. The CBS Mornings anchor took to Instagram to share all of the proposal’s details, which came together with some help from her closest friend, Oprah Winfrey. “It has happened! Favorite son @willgb3 has found his person and I now have a favorite daughter-in-law to be: The lovely @elisemariesmith!” Gayle wrote in her caption. “There were a lot of cooks in the kitchen and a lot of planning went into this moment, so here’s some behind the scenes…now just waiting for the date of the wedding!”

Gayle posted a series of images and videos alongside her caption, which gave her fans a front-row seat into how the proposal came to be and the knee-drop moment itself. The carousel kicked off with a sweet portrait of the future newlyweds before it transitioned to a video of the setup process, which is when Oprah stepped in to help the proposal photographer, Brett, select a tucked-away spot to capture the moment. “Behind the scenes of the proposal,” Gayle said, before panning to Oprah (who was standing in the bushes to make sure she had the perfect position) and her daughter, Kirby. “What’s your suggestion, Oprah, on where Brett should be?”

The broadcast journalist's post also featured the big moment—and the sweet, funny clip is entirely representative of how it feels to watch someone you love get engaged. As Gayle and her family looked on from afar, hidden inside a nearby building, you could feel their anticipation building as William led Elise along a garden pathway. “Is it happening?” someone said in the background. “Not yet, not yet!” another person responded, just before the groom-to-be paused and dropped to one knee. That’s when a chorus of gasps and “Oh my gods” kicked in—and everyone cheered when Elise, who had likely just said yes, pulled William in for a kiss, confirming for the crowd that the proposal was a success.

Another video in the roundup, taken during an intimate post-proposal party (to which guests wore shades of cream and white), showed an emotional Elise heaving a big, happy sigh after the engagement photo shoot had wrapped. Following a round of applause, her future mother-in-law and Oprah came towards her to examine the ring glittering on her finger—before the rest of the crowd closed in to admire the bauble, as well.