Who is Kirby Bumpus? Gayle King's 'favorite daughter' pregnant, TV host wants to be called 'Gaia, not grandma'
Clearly not done dropping bombshells on her CBS talk show, Gayle King set some time aside 'This Morning' to announce the joyous news of her daughter's pregnancy. Making it very clear that she doesn't want to be called a 'grandma', King already has a list of alternatives that her future grandkid could call her.
The talk show host also shared the happy news on her Instagram, when she dubbed her pregnant daughter Kirby Bumpus as her 'favorite' one. But there might be more than just one reason why this ex-White House employee happens to be King's favorite.
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Who is Kirby Bumpus?
The 32-year-old is King's daughter from her ex-husband Bill Bumpus, whom she was married to from 1982 to 1983. Kirby also happens to be Oprah Winfrey's goddaughter because Winfrey has been King's friend for a long time.
Kirby currently works as the head of social impact and inclusion at Sweetgreen - a casual dining chain quite popular for its salads. Kirby has also worked at the Department of Health and Human Services, and later as an associate director for policy in the White House before her current employment. During her stint at the White House, she had worked on Michelle Obama's 'Let's Move!' initiative.
With over 21K followers on Instagram, Kirby describes herself as a "Food lover, health educator, new experience seeker, world traveler, tequila enthusiast, fitness fan, perpetual student". She married her fiancé, Virgil Miller, at Winfrey's house in December 2020, with her brother William Jr Bumpus officiating the ceremony.
King has announced the news on Instagram, writing "FINALLY fav daughter @kirbybump gave me permission to share the news she’s a married lady.. she & Virgil Miller tied the knot in super small service(6 people) @oprah house in December. Strict covid rules I couldn’t even hug her on her wedding day that was haaaaard! Not the wedding we planned in 2020 but my favorite son @willgb3 performed the ceremony... the day was gorgeous and so was kirby! I call that perfection.. swipe left for stunning pixs from @JoePug... thank you joe! Ps anybody have tips on being a good mother-in-law ?? Im all ears and taking notes!"
'Gaia,' not 'Grandma'
Admitting that she had been "bursting" to announce the news of this pregnancy, King said on the April 29 broadcast of the show: "Favourite daughter Kirby got married in December. You know how it goes: First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Kirby with the baby carriage." King then went on about how she prefers to not be called 'Grandma'. Her top alternative is 'Gaia', which means "Mother Earth."
King also said "Oprah thinks it’s stupid and pretentious," but added "I like it." The name 'Mumsy' was also an option, but Kirby apparently nipped that in the bug King said. “Somebody said Gammy but that sounds like an old lady with no teeth,” she added.
King then turned to the show's guest of the day, John Legend, for advice on what she should have her grandchild call herself. “You know something about writing songs. Maybe you can come up with a name for me,” she told the singer who's a father of two.
Thrilled about having a grandkid, her Instagram post was captioned "Big big news for favorite daughter Kirby and favorite son in law Virgil! Now I need your help... press play to find out why... open to all suggestions." And while she chose to keep Kirby's due date private, given that the pregnancy isn't brand new, Kirby is expected to give birth sometime later this year. Here's hoping King finds a suitable alternative to "grandma" by then!