When Oprah was six, her grandmother became ill, and Oprah was sent to live at her mother's home in Milwaukee, where she was made to sleep on the porch by the boarding house owner. Her years with her mother also exposed her to even more horrifying trauma. As she has recalled, at just nine years old, Oprah was raped by her 19-year-old cousin. As time went on, a family friend and an uncle would also abuse the vulnerable young girl (via New York Post).
Unable to seek help or confide in anyone, Oprah acted out by becoming rebellious, fighting with her mother, staying out all night, and being "wild," as she put it. She described her behavior at the time as "promiscuous," not understanding that she could set boundaries over her body. Young Oprah also didn't understand the consequences of being sexually active. As a result, she became pregnant at age 14.
Her mother's first reaction was to take her to a girls' detention home. "I remember having a moment thinking, 'Now, I am officially a bad girl' ... and thinking to myself, sitting there waiting to be processed, that 'I really don't belong here,'" she recalled in an Oprah's LifeClass segment. As luck would have it, the home didn't have room for her, so Oprah's exasperated mother sent her to live with her father instead.
Oprah was finally in a stable environment, but her ordeal wasn't yet behind her.
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