Oprah Winfrey shaped the lives of many young women since 2002, thanks to her South Africa boarding school for girls.
Now that another class of women has graduated, enrollment in her Leadership Academy is the gift that keeps on giving.
The TV magnate and philanthropist just dropped $10,000 on a wedding dress for one of her former students and posted a photo of the bridal shopping spree in Beverly Hills on Instagram.
"I've known these girls since they were 12 and 13 coming to my school," she beamed.
The photo includes her and three other girls from the school with the bride-to-be, Glori, holding up an exquisite Berta beaded gown.
"Graduating from college. Grad school. Now our first wedding. Looking for the perfect dress."
Saks Fifth Avenue was closed to the public so the women could shop without interruption.
According to the Daily Mail, the girls' afternoon activities kicked off with dinner at the posh eatery, Spago, owned by Wolfgang Puck.
I’m soooo blessed it’s mindblowing. Your girl is getting married soon! 💍👰🏾💕😁 https://t.co/9KXu2d8097— G (@G) 1556444565
One of the women on the private shopping spree was former student Morgan Mpungose, who holds a master's degree in architecture from the University of Southern California.
She shared some photos from their romp around the store.
So too did Mpumi Nobiva, who shared a video of herself frolicking around the salon while holding up one of the dresses.
"Practicing for when my turn comes? ... lol helping pick a dress was SO fun," she wrote on one of her posts.
"Now... we wait for the groom to arrive in about ... 10 years - at least - I hope (or more) #monatempolaye."
Here is a YouTube clip of Nobiva's rehearsal for her someday fairy tale wedding taken from her Instagram page.
Video: Oprah goes wedding dress shopping with a student from her schoolwww.youtube.com
No confirmation was given on whether the bride said yes to the pictured dress.
@Oprah shutdown Saks in Beverly Hills to find a wedding dress for a graduate from her South Africa school https://t.co/naIHzK7Egm— Early Today (@Early Today) 1556529461
Nobiva is an international speaker who was 9-years-old when she lost her mother to an AIDS-related illness.
She holds a master's degree in strategic communications.
People were moved after seeing the former students as grown women.
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How many people can say Oprah is sharing a milestone moment with you?
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How gratifying it must be to see lives changed because of you.
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The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls opened in 2007 and provides educational and leadership opportunities for gifted girls, grades 8-12, who come from underprivileged backgrounds.
The school was inspired by Oprah's own disadvantaged childhood.
The boarding school's inaugural class of 72 women, including the three girls, graduated in 2011.
Winfrey made a promise to South African president Nelson Mandela back in 2002 that she would attend the inaugural class' graduation ceremony.
Since following through with that promise, Oprah also witnessed some of her former students go on to receive their master's degrees, and now, shopped for a wedding dress.
Here is a photo of Oprah attending Glori's graduation last year.
Thank you Oprah, for being who you are!
Redditor _ReDd1T_UsEr wanted to discuss the reasons why many of us decided to cut some people out of our lives, so they asked:
"What was the reason why your friendship ended with someone?"
Sometimes a person just has to go.
Planning Stages
Weekend Sunday GIF by DisneyGiphy"I stopped being the first to always initiate plans, and that was that."
Witty-Surround-6541
"I once asked a friend to plan our next breakfast + walk outing, since I always did that. He wrote me a letter ending the friendship. Stunning!"
fermat9996
Pants on Fire
"Habitual lying became too annoying and disruptive to tolerate."
Hosscatticus_Dad523
"When you constantly are thinking... this math ain't matching lol. People that lie all the time make me sick. I've told multiple friends that you don't have to lie to me."
"I feel so much better when someone can trust me and feel comfortable telling me a hard truth than an easy lie."
"Even if the truth made me feel some type of way, I'm still glad it was honest. I've even said thank you to people in the past that have been honest with me, good or bad! Some people just can not help lying about things. I wouldn't be able to ever keep a story straight if I did that."
__eden_
Bad Behavior
"He kept having kids with different girls and bailing on them. Coming from a 'went out for a pack of smokes' Dad myself, I just couldn't watch it anymore. Bailed after the third one. Think he's up to 6 now."
KingGuy420
"Reminds me of one of my ex-friends. She kept having kids with MULTIPLE guys (all of them were one-night stands), I don't think she even knows who the baby daddies are."
"She also kept begging me and people for money for pot, and she also bragged about having OnlyFans. She'd also make up stories about being in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend (she'd also cheat on him/tell people her and him they broke up, which they weren't)."
wisconsinking
Reasons
"I was a bad person and they ended it for perfectly sensible reasons. I would have done the same. I've changed, but I don't blame them for not reconsidering contact."
tabletopsidekick
"I’ve been there. I was a bad person and lost friendships and family relationships. I tried to apologize to everyone I hurt."
PDXGalMeow
"I also accepted that they don’t want me in their lives anymore. I learned that I made my mistakes, I learned from them, and I accept their choices. I don’t self-hate anymore and I try to be a better person in general. I hope you are doing well and practicing self-love and forgiveness."
PDXGalMeow
Money Issues
Donald Duck Money GIFGiphy"I lent them $20 and then they avoided me so they didn’t have to pay me back. Worth the $20."
BuickAssault
"I don't ever expect prompt returns of small amounts of money between my friends... we all buy each other rounds or buy the food for the BBQ or whatever. It ends up evening out over time I think we'd notice though if someone was always taking and never giving and then they'd probably get cut off too."
Badloss
In the immortal words of Cyndi Lauper... "Money Changes Everything."
Lack of Support
Happy Planning GIFGiphy"She joined a pyramid scheme selling butt-ugly leggings and it took over her whole life. When I finally told her it was negatively affecting our friendship, she accused me of not supporting her 'business.'"
LeftandLeaving9006
Oh Driver
"I was basically a taxi for my friends so I dumped them all."
Bullfrog_Little
"This one I can understand but depends on the situation. Not all of my friends had cars in high school, so our group needed to have me and my sh*tty '94 Plymouth Sundance come, or they couldn't do anything. I didn't mind at all then, but I definitely would these days."
Hoopajoops
"I remember I used to drive around with my buddies all the time before they had licenses. When one of my friends got his and a car I said sweet now you can drive me around for a bit, he replied that he wasn't gonna waste his money on gas like that. See ya, haven't really spoken to him since."
DontcallmeShirley_82
2063
"How's this for oddly specific: Friend since 1980, was hanging out at a bar in 1992 and there was a dispute of over a $15.00 bar tab. I was in the right, but whatever - he held a grudge for years."
"Ran into him in 2017 and we were both too old to care. Started to see each other now and then. 2023 and we're at this local bar for a show and got into a fight about $15.00 a ticket."
"Maybe he'll call me in 2063."
The68Guns
Exhausting
"She was a taker, constantly. When I needed something she made it about her yet again. Exhausting to be around."
LordyIHopeThereIsPie
"I'm going through this right now. Can't tell you how many texts I have from her in the past few days telling me that I need to get over myself, need to stop making myself the victim, have been a terrible friend, have never been there for her."
"She's the most narcissistic person I know and everyone does everything for her. She has one of the easiest lives ever and anytime anything bad happens to her she believes that everyone is against her and she's the victim here. It's pure insanity. There is no talking sense to people like this."
cheeseburgerwaffles
Life Changes
point pointing GIF by Shalita GrantGiphy"I've lost like all but two of my 'friends' because I stopped drinking and doing hard drugs."
ConcertTerrible8877
"Same here dude. My circle is small but hey at least it's a circle I know I can go to."
Miss_mayonnaise
Oh, how things change when the booze dries up.
How much fun were you really having?
Do you have any stories about cutting off a friend? Let us know in the comments below.