MAINE, USA — Immediately after we posted our web story on Tuesday about Oprah eating a lobster roll during her "first visit" to Maine last month, we received emails and Facebook comments from multiple viewers saying they thought Oprah had visited Vacationland once or twice in the early 2000s.
To be honest, we didn’t think we needed to look into the beloved TV icon's statement. We took her word for it, well, because she's Oprah. Maybe that was our bad because after some digging, our viewers are correct. Oprah has been to Maine.
Winfrey and longtime friend Gayle King visited Machias, Maine back in 2004 to film The Oprah Winfrey Show. The pair went back in time during a visit to The Colonial Home, where PBS was shooting a series on how people lived in the 1600s. According to Colonial House’s website, Oprah and her crew visited the Colony in 2004 to film a segment for her show. She participated in an interview that was featured in a promotional PBS clip but did not appear in PBS' Colonial House series.
Now, we know what you New England locals are thinking: The Colonial House is in Massachusetts, not Maine. Well, according to a Sun Journal article from 2004, "the series was filmed in Machias, Maine, mainly because that’s where the producers found a coastal area that was remote enough to isolate a group from the modern world for a long period of time. Historically, there were no European settlements known of on the actual land chosen, but it is the type of location the colonists were looking for up and down the coast – an area with a protected bay, access to deep water for ships, and a richness and variety of natural resources."
That being said, check out this episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show filmed in Machias, Maine.
Perhaps Oprah doesn't recall that trip because it wasn't filled with typical Maine activities like eating “lobstah” or enjoying oceanside views. So, we'll let that slide.
Another viewer wrote to us recalling an "Oprah" interview with George W. Bush and his father, George H.W. Bush at their summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Yes, after further review, that did happen, but...
Oprah is not seen in the part of the interview filmed in Kennebunkport, only her voice is heard connecting storylines and soundbites. That's because Oprah herself did not travel to Maine, but some of her producers did. The description of the "President Bush" episode says one producer was "overcome with emotion" when he met the two former Presidents and First Lady.
So, has Oprah been to the Bush's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine? No, but her producers have.
Regardless of the reason, Oprah may have forgotten about her 2004 Maine visit, we can forgive her. We just hope she had a wicked time trying that lobster roll.