‘CBS Mornings’ host Gayle King recalls how she spent her senior year living with high school teacher in emotional reunion
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: 'CBS Mornings' host Gayle King revealed a special story from her high school years about living with her social studies teacher during her senior year.
In a back-to-school segment on the talk show, the co-hosts picked up King's story and also organized a reunion with the teacher and his wife.
King's caretakers for a whole year went on to share stories and snippets from their time as her main guardians, where they treated her like their own daughter. They also discussed the reasons why King had to spend a whole year under their guardianship away from her own family.
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Gayle King separated from family to finish senior year
When the CBS host was moving into her senior year at high school, she was faced with a major family decision that almost made her do that year in a completely different school.
She was just a teenager when her family revealed to her that they would be moving all across the country to a different state, moving away from California.
The reason for it was King's father's job, which kept them moving places, having previously also lived in Turkey for a few years before moving back to the US.
Moving before finishing school would mean joining a new place and a facing new crowd altogether for her senior year. To avoid that, King went up to her social studies teacher, Roger Heathcote, asking him to temporarily take her in with his family while her own moved away.
Gayle King's high school teacher interviewed for guardianship
King was adamant about completing her high school life in the same place but her parents only had one demand to let her do what she wanted: she would have to live in a "good home".
"Peggy was always Peggy and Roger, I called Dad," King revealed after she united with her former guardian in her workplace, "I could not live with my best friend Elana, they [her parents] said 'no, you can't do that.'"
The Heathcotes shared that they were properly asked by King's parents about the details of letting her spend the year in their house and family, taking over a major responsibility in her life.
"We were being interviewed Gayle, this was important!" Peggy went on to say.
"They rearranged their house so I could have my own bedroom," King shared, also revealing that the Heathcotes had little children of their own at the time.
Her high school teacher shared that King was a popular personality in her high school and "said 'Hello' to everyone." They also revealed her big interest in basketball during those years.
The Heathcotes and King continue to remain in touch for decades and her former guardians said that they were proud to see her success years after living together.
