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No matter how beautiful Montana was in the spring, sightseeing wasn't the reason why they were there. Bradley would like a few days of vacation but this stay wasn't strictly what that was. They came to Montana for a week but today was the big day- the main reason why they arrived here in the first place. Bradley was about to be interviewed by Oprah herself. When she agreed with her publicist a few months ago that she'll get interviewed to better explain why she and Laura decided to keep her pregnancy a secret, she didn't really think it'll be with Oprah. She thought more in the lines of someone from UBA. But here they were, Laura and Matt looking at her while she paced back and forth in the study while waiting for Oprah and her team to do some finishing touches. Laura suggested that the interview takes place on the back porch because it had more than enough space for equipment, comfy furniture and amazing view. Bradley agreed with her but the main reason why she thought that back porch was a good idea was the fact that she felt like passing out and she was sure that fresh air would stop her from fainting.

''It'll be okay.'' said Laura as she held Matt who looked at Bradley pacing with interest. ''She will guide you through it, won't press you if there will be questions you don't feel comfortable answering.''

''She is an excellent journalist.'' replied Bradley ''She has the similar technique like you- you have ability to pull emotions and thoughts from people. So does she.''

''Yes, but Bradley, don't forget that you are an excellent reporter as well. You found yourself in many tricky situations during your career and you pulled it off.'' said Laura looking at Bradley supportingly ''You have come a long way from being a hot-headed firecracker that tells whatever comes to her mind. Own it. She respects you and that is why she wanted to do this interview. She's not doing you or us a favor and she's certainly not doing one for UBA. She's here because she wants to hear your story and she wants to get to know you better.'' finished Laura as she got up and stood in front of Bradley making her stop.

Bradley looked into Laura's eyes full of love and support and then at Matt and his toothless smile which made jitters leave her body. ''You are right.'' she said as she caressed Matt's round face ''I am overthinking this. Thank you for being my rock.'' she said as she gently kissed Laura.

''We'll be close.'' smiled Laura ''Until Matt decides to sing the song of his people.'' Bradley laughed at her wifes comment, but they both knew they were extremely lucky to have a quiet and calm child. 

Their moment was interrupted by a PA knocking and entering the study ''Everything is set, we're ready for you.'' Laura and Bradley turned towards the young PA, Laura nodding her head and saying ''We'll be right there.'' 

As they made their way to the back porch, Laura smiled and said to Bradley ''You got this, honey.''

''Thank you.'' smiled Bradley kissing her as they stopped  in front of the open door and then kissing Matt's forehead before she stepped outside and smiled to Oprah ''We ready to get this show on the road?''

Oprah smiled as she hugged her ''You bet.''

As they took their seats in the fluffy armchairs on the porch, PA's did final touches by hooking them up with mics and then cameras started to roll. 

Oprah met Laura Peterson during her career numerous times and she had significant respect for her and who she was. So she knew that Laura would not choose to marry someone who didn't share many of her values therefore her respect extended to Bradley immediately. When she arrived in Montana in the early morning, she spent some time with the couple and she knew that her immediate respect for Bradley was not wasted in any way. What she also saw was that Bradley was nervous, clearly not used to being in the other chair during interviews and she wanted to ease her into the interview the best she knew how.

''Bradley Jackson-Peterson'' said Oprah smiling widely ''How does it feel to be in the other chair?''

''I'm quite nervous, to be honest.'' chuckled Bradley ''I have been interviewed, for real, only once in my life.'' 

''Well, I am sure you were in the good hands.'' chuckled Oprah looking at the blonde as a smile appeared on her face.

''Last time I was interviewed it was also by a great journalist.'' Bradley grinned ''Ended up marrying her, so I'd say it went okay.''

''I am afraid I can't offer the same amount of dedication.'' laughed Oprah, making Bradley laugh with her. Laura just rolled her eyes in the background, smiling at Oprah's tactic to relax Bradley.

''How does it feel to be married? Now that you mentioned it.'' asked Oprah

''Unreal sometimes.'' smiled Bradley ''It feels wonderful to share a life with someone.''

''You say this with a certain awe.'' Oprah noticed, prompting Bradley to continue.

''I never thought I'd get married, if I am being honest. I never thought it was in the cards for me. Then I met Laura.'' she nodded more to herself than anybody else ''She changed the course of my life. For the first time in my life, I wanted to stay, to belong.'' she paused ''Marriage stopped being something that resembles a burden, a way to stop me from doing what I wanted. Because with other people it always felt like that, like an ending of being me. I saw the same thing in many couples so I just figured it wasn't for me.'' 

''But Laura changed all of that?'' asked Oprah curiously. 

''Yes'' smiled Bradley ''She did. Her love is freeing, not conditioned, it's consuming but not suffocating. She is strong and capable, smart and witty.'' Bradley smiled playfully ''Doesn't hurt that she's hot.'' she nodded, adding ''Her ass is top shelf.'' as she looked towards Laura who was on the porch behind all the cameras. Bradley laughed as Laura made an unamused face that turned into silent laugh.

''Was that your pick up line?'' asked Oprah chuckling ''Or did Laura live up to her reputation and ask you out?''

''Well, it's a bit...hard to explain because we did that part a bit more'' she searched for the word ''scrambled?''

''What do you mean?'' asked Oprah with a smile on her face, wanting to hear the story and deliver it to the people.

''Well, we met on a plane.'' started Bradley ''We were both a part of a team that was going to the Iowa caucus. It was a very delicate time for us at TMS and I've been told to be at my best and most professional behavior.'' Bradley nodded, explaining ''I knew who Laura was, I mean- she's Laura fucking Peterson.'' the blonde laughed ''So when I boarded the plane, I was very nervous. Especially since I knew she would interview me after the caucus.'' explained Bradley ''So I enter the cabin and Laura is cracking jokes with the rest of the team. Her back was turned towards me so she didn't immediately see me and Gordon, her producer, diverted her attention towards me.'' smiled Bradley with a smile that clearly said she just couldn't help but to smile. Oprah smiled and nodded indicating to Bradley to continue.

''Right, so she turned towards me and I was floored.'' Bradley said ''She just had this welcoming energy and body language but it was very professional and elegant at the same time. I just remember she had cracked a joke and introduced me to the team members I haven't met before.'' smiled Bradley ''And to be honest, I remembered just how big of a crush I had on her during my university years.''

''You had a crush on her?'' interrupted Oprah, bending forward a bit in her seat, asking ''During her morning show days or?''

Bradley exhaled loudly in a sign of a slight embarrassment ''Well, yeah, I did. She was a morning show host very early in her career, in her early 20s and I was still in high school at that time.'' the blonde smiled ''I had a crush on her then as well, but I don't think I realized it back then. When she moved on to a different kind of journalism, when she reported from the war zones and all that- I was at uni. Then, you know when I saw her reporting I was in awe of her and at that time I knew it was a crush. And all those years later there I was- in a plane with a crush that came back from my teenage days.'' she smiled ''But, you know, I never dreamed I'd meet her, let alone marry her.''

''So you were just stuck there with this crush that reappeared out of the blue?'' asked Oprah, trying to grasp the situation correctly.

''Yes!'' Bradley exclaimed and shook her head with a playful smile remembering the situation ''But it got worse!'' she added ''I tried to be as professional as I could and I thought that I was doing a pretty good job. However, just how badly I was doing was revealed during the interview.'' she laughed at herself.

''Really?'' questioned Oprah ''How did that become evident?''

''I mean, she asked me a question that I hadn't anticipated really and that was- how it felt to be where I was in my career.'' Bradley paused for a second ''She looked at me as if she really wanted to know and I remember answering the question and making a key mistake. I looked into her eyes and I was in full blown, gay, panic mode.'' she pursed her lips nodding ''It's a good thing she hadn't asked me a thing at that moment because I have no idea how I would form a sentence. I just remember stopping from our 'walk and talk' kind of an interview and looking into her eyes. Apparently I was so...'' Bradley paused searching for proper word ''taken with her that I dropped the cup of coffee I was having and it splashed all over her very expensive shoes.'' she finished, groaning at herself.

Oprah laughed at that comment and Bradley could hear a chuckle from a few crewmembers. The blonde's eyes found her dark haired beauty for a second and saw her smirking.

''That sounds very smooth.'' commented Oprah and Bradley just nodded ''Yeah, I'm a smooth operator, what can I say?''

''So did that somehow lead to the date or?'' Oprah asked curiously.

''Well, not really, no.'' said Bradley ''It actually happened when we were in a town car going back from Iowa.'' she paused ''We were going back to New York and we didn't have any work obligations for that day so we were- you know, more relaxed. Laura has a different style of dressing when she's about to be on TV or interview someone compared to work related meetings and then how she dresses in private. You know, pretty much like most people.'' she paused ''However, it left me a bit surprised to see her so casually dressed on our way to the airport. She seemed connectable and softer, even more real than she was the day before and it kinda made me feel that I just....'' she paused, biting her lip a bit insecurely ''I just didn't want to leave her. To leave without doing something regarding this attraction I had towards her. So, I kinda kissed her?''

''That's pretty bold, I would say.'' said Oprah, clearly impressed ''What did she say about that? Did you get afraid that you crossed a line in a professional setting?''

''Well, apparently, she was all for it. I was afraid for a second or two, even started to apologize but she wasn't having it and she kissed me back.'' laughed Bradley and added ''Later on, she did say she felt some sort of tension between us, but since it was so generally accepted that I was straight, she didn't want to risk our professional relationship by hitting on me.''

''How do you feel about your sexuality now? Now that it's not so generally accepted anymore- that you are straight?'' asked Oprah ''Now, that you are in public relationship with a woman?''

Bradley felt a bit of nervousness come back but she took a deep breath, found Laura's kind eyes behind all this show and smiled. ''It was a journey.'' she nodded ''It was a painful, hard, long journey that I had to do. Because I was really unhappy living a lie, even though I sold myself the idea that I was happy and content with my life many times before. I grew up in a community where I couldn't be who I was.'' she paused, thinking before adding ''Which was worse, I was born into a family that hated people like me. I....'' she paused, swallowing hard and looking into Oprah's eyes with a mist in her eyes ''I told myself that I was better off alone, you know? Not having a good, loving relationship with a woman was enough, you know? It was my penance in a way. For a family and a god they believe in. If I suffer that means that I am sorry for being who I am and that would be enough to be loved and cared for by my family.'' she paused a bit and Oprah offered a gentle smile ''At some point, I realized that pretending was not a possibility for me anymore. To ignore who I was. That was when I met a woman without whom I never wanted to live. When I met Laura.''

''That's when everything changed?'' asked Oprah, gently searching for more details ''You couldn't go back?''

''Yeah'' nodded Bradley ''It wasn't easy and it got messy a couple of times. I am very lucky that Laura stuck around for those moments because they were not pretty and they often, in the beginning, consisted of push and pull situations. My will to be who I am would break sometimes and I just wanted to crawl into that familiar pattern of behavior which was back into hiding and being miserable. I've done that for so long it felt normal and I felt guilty for trying to be happy.''

Oprah sensed Bradley was slipping into some darker corners of her mind so she pulled her back with a lighter statement ''And here you are now, living your life, enjoying your family.''

Bradley nodded at that, sneaking one glance towards Laura behind camera's who was holding now sleeping Matt. ''Yeah, I guess I won the lottery. At least it feels that way.'' 

''I am sure you felt that way when Laura proposed.'' commented Oprah, smiling. 

''Oh, no, no, no.'' Bradley shook her head ''She did not propose to me. I proposed to her, thank you very much.'' said Bradley with pride in her voice.

''Seriously?'' asked Oprah, surprised at that ''Laura Peterson wasn't the one who proposed?''

''Yes!'' Bradley nodded once with determination ''I asked her to marry me.''

''How did that happen?'' asked Oprah ''How did you decide- I am proposing to her?'' 

''Well'' Bradley chuckled ''It was a summer day, we were here in Montana, isolating during the pandemic. Laura was in the living room, reading a book and she got up to walk out here on the porch. Usually, these double doors are not fully open, only one door leaf is open. But I had left both of them open that day and Laura, not expecting it to be opened and fully immersed in her book, smashed right into the open door on her way.'' she smiled widely ''That was the moment I decided I want to marry her, I mean I just thought to myself- look at that idiot, smashing into the door like that. Who loses themselves into a book like that? I want to spend my life watching her do this kind of things.'' she nodded, making Oprah laugh out loud.

''Did you plan a romantic proposal?'' Oprah asked.

''After my discovery that I wanted to get married- which shocked me at the time, I sat down and found jewelry shops that make custom rings. I sketched my design and after an online meeting with the jeweler I ordered the ring.'' she paused, nodding and remembering the situation.

''I decided to do this right, I wanted it to be perfect.'' continued Bradley, but Oprah interrupted her with a question

''Were you afraid she might propose first?''

''Not really, because I knew she wouldn't put pressure on me and demand more definition of our relationship.'' answered Bradley ''She let us develop at my pace which I was thankful for.'' 

At Oprah's nod of understanding, Bradley continued ''Like I said, I wanted to propose in the right way. I wrote a monolog, really'' Bradley laughed ''Then I did the research, how many times I have to repeat it so I'd know it by heart even if I felt nervous.''

''Oh god'' Oprah laughed ''That is really adorable, I have to say. What did your research show?''

''Well, if you want to remeber certain behavior you have to repeat it about 60 times. However, if you want to memorize text or someone's name it's about 30 times.'' said Bradley

''So, you repeated your proposal 30 times?'' Oprah asked, amused by the story.

''So, I repeated it 50 times- just to be sure.'' answered Bradley, nodding with her eyes closed while Oprah chuckled.

''I memorized it, which was the most important thing.'' continued Bradley ''The ring came and I decided to propose to her when we would go on our hike. I went up the trail with Jack, our ranch menager, that morning and set a place for a picnic at the top. Jack stayed to guard it from animals while I came back before Laura's meetings were over. It was a trail that Laura and I hiked on almost every weekend.'' Bradley explained.

''At the end of the trail is a beautiful, small meadow with a beautiful view and I thought that was a perfect place to propose.'' continued Bradley. ''So, we went on our hike and halfway to the top there is a small clearing with a high waterfall where we would sometimes fill up our water bottles. It is a beautiful place and has a beautiful view but the clearing is very small and not suitable for picnic because of the water that is flowing in a small creak further down.''

''So on our hike that day, Laura was walking in front of me across a small wooden crossing over the creak that is made of a tree trunk. It was a sunny day and she turned around in the middle of that crossing to say something to me. At that moment, the wind picked up a bit and carried the mist from the waterfall over us and I could swear that in that moment, surrounded by sun rays and mist, I'd never seen her look more beautiful.'' said Bradley.

''I feel like all your preparation was for nothing.'' Oprah smiled, interrupting gently.

''Oh it was, all thoughts just disappeared from my mind and I just blurted the question.'' nodded Bradley ''I left her a bit speechless I'd say, but I pulled the ring out of my pocket and kneeled down on my knee and waited for an answer. Thankfully, she said yes like a moment later, after she got over the initial shock.''

''Did that yes make you feel like you won the lottery?'' asked Oprah.

''Yes, definitely.'' Bradley answered immediately ''Excluding having Matt, it's the happiest moment in my life.''

''I believe you.'' stated Oprah and then continued ''Speaking of moments, we all have been witnessing these moments where you were exposed to the public at certain points of your relationship.'' Oprah started ''Like when your relationship was confirmed during one of your TMS segments. Or when Alex and Laura slipped information, during their TMS show one morning, that you gave birth.'' she nodded, looking at Bradley ''Many speculated that it was on purpose, a part of a media stunt. What do you have to say to that?''

''It was not a part of anything.'' snorted Bradley ''It was...'' she paused, searching for words ''It was life. Just life. I was never involved, voluntarily, in any kind of a scheme. What happened when I was baking during the TMS segment was that Alex played really dirty because she knew exactly how scared I am of heights. That parachuting would most definitely kill me. I just panicked and Laura was up and she was in the room so I just instinctively reached out to her.'' explained Bradley ''And that was the start of it all. What happened during TMS while Duo Fantasticus were hosting'' Bradley rolled her eyes ''I'm not even commenting. When you put those two in the room, honestly, it's like kindergarten. Someone should put their picture in the urban dictionary next to frenemies''.

That comment made Oprah laugh and Laura pout in the background. ''Nothing that got leaked was planned in any way. Honestly, the only thing we did plan was was a charity drunk baking contest because we wanted to try and help hospital personnel who were hit the most during the pandemic.'' added Bradley.

''Of course, certain things, you couldn't keep a secret forever.'' Oprah said, mimicking with her hands as to explain better ''Especially Matt, so I presume you had a plan for that?''

''Yes, we knew we couldn't keep Matt away from the public eye for long, but the original plan was that we would annonce it just before I come back to TMS.'' explained Bradley ''We just wanted a bit more time settling down with him, getting used to things being a little bit different.''

''Child is a big responsibility and it certainly makes people shift their lives around.'' Oprah said, nodding.

''God yes, your life is not just yours anymore. There's a tiny life that you get to hold and watch grow and you would move Earth to make sure that they are okay.'' nodded Bradley ''It was a big change for us, but one we both welcomed with opened arms.''

''How do you feel about the media's coverage of your relationship? Paparazzi following you to get a picture of your son?'' asked Oprah, knowing there were many different articles and speculation about Laura's and Bradley's relationship.

''Well, I am certainly never happy with us being followed by paparazzi, but we are lucky to be reporters, journalists because we're not that interesting to the general public. So, the whole charade usually settles down within a couple of weeks after some revelation or viral post.'' Bradley explained ''But of course, the media is free to write what they want and so are the people. We, like everyone else ever, got mixed reactions from people. There were some very angry and upset people over us being together and having a child and living in sin. Then, there were many people who supported us throughout our relationship and were happy for us. So you know, pretty standard things, I just decided to focus more on the good side of it all and people's support. Ignore theories and hate the best that I can.''

''I have found myself in similar situations throughout life and I know it's not easy to'' Oprah paused for a moment to get to the question right ''to get detached from comments and hate. How did you manage that?''

''Well, I guess with a good support network.'' said Bradley slowly, trying to formulate the answer ''It all started with getting over myself and all I have been through in my younger years. Then, making clear what I wanted and who I wanted in my life- with clear boundaries and stable connection.'' nodded Bradley ''Nobody is liked by everyone, there will always be people who will dislike you for whatever valid or ridiculous reason.'' said Bradley and then found Laura and Matt in the background and said ''No matter how you choose to live, those people will exist. So I think it's better to live the way you want to and be disliked by certain people than to be miserable and still be disliked, just by some other people. Those who dislike you because of who you are, whether it's because of your sexuality, race or belief- are not the people you want to be liked by in the first place.'' Bradley finished confidently. 

Definition for frenemy has been updated by liljedi65 on May 15, 2021.