Oprah's Big Secret - A Long Lost Sister

Oprah Winfrey has a stunning secret about her life. After reuniting countless families on her show, it was revealed to her audience that she has found her long-lost half sister. "Patricia is my half-sister who I never knew existed," Oprah said on Monday's show. Before the holidays, Oprah said she was told the secret. She decided to go public with the news on her show, before any other source could try to exploit it.

Oprah's mother, Vernita Lee, gave her half sister away for adoption at birth in 1963. She claims that she wasn't able to take care of another baby while being supported on welfare. Oprah said that she had no idea that her mother had given up her sister when she was 9 years old.

Patricia lived in foster homes until the age of 7. In a heartbreaking confession, Patricia said that she hoped that her mother would one day return for her. When she was told that she had three siblings, Oprah being the only who is still alive, Patricia proclaimed "Oh my God, I have a family".

Oprah invited her long-lost sister on her show to reveal their secret. Patricia, shorter than Oprah yet still similar in appearance, sat along side her sister on stage, clasping her hand. Their mother, who recently suffered a small stroke, submitted a taped segment for the show saying that she was shocked that Patricia had been looking for her, despite what she had done. Vernita said she tried to find her baby not long after she was born, but was told that "she had left".

In 2007, Patricia started researching her past after seeing Vernita on a television interview where she discussed her three children. "We realized that Oprah could be my sister," Patricia said.

Oprah's shocking news comes to her audience during her final season of the Oprah Winfrey Show. In the episode preview, she says that the news "literally shook me to my core" and called the reunion "a miracle."