Pouring cereal into my three boys’ bowls, I checked the clock. Time for them to get moving so we wouldn’t be late for school. Every morning was the same. I’d use a mixture of cajoling and rushing around to get Joe, eight, Micheal, five, and two-year-old Matt, out of the door.
I was a stay-at-home mum, but it was a full-time job looking after the boys and my husband, George, who was in the US military.
“We have to go,” I yelled, grabbing school bags and books. I was so busy I barely looked up when George, 43, kissed me on the cheek. “See you later, honey,” he said, before leaving.
The front door to our house banged and I glanced again at the clock. “Come on,” I yelled. “Let’s go.”
We’d lived in Bishop, Texas, for just a couple of months. George had moved us there after an earthquake near our home in California had frightened him so much, he’d asked for an army transfer. After 17 years of marriage, it felt like a fresh start for our family.
I dropped the boys at school, then went to buy some food for tea. I stopped at the cash machine next to the store to collect some money from our joint bank account, but it refused to give me any.
Convinced there had been some sort of mistake, I checked the balance and stopped in my tracks. The account was empty. “What the…?” I began, puzzled.
I tried to get in touch with George to see what was happening. It was March 1992, and there were no mobile phones, just a pager.
“Honey, where are you? Please call me,” I wrote. But nothing, no answer. After a dozen messages I began to get scared. I called his family, but again there was no answer. Then I called mutual friends and was left shell-shocked when many of them said, “Carol, just forget about him and move on with your life.” I had no idea where he was or why he had left.
I tried to act normally in front of the boys that night, but when they were asleep I called one of George’s bosses at the military and they told me the same: “You’re better off without him.” I couldn’t believe that my life was crumbling around me and nobody could offer me an explanation as to why my husband had just walked out on his family.
I sobbed so much I could barely breathe, it was as if someone had punched me in the chest.
That night the boys wanted to know where Daddy was and that was the hardest thing of all. “When’s he coming back?” they kept asking, but I didn’t know. “Soon I hope,” I whispered, totally baffled about what was going on.
I knew he wasn’t in a hospital, or jail – I’d rung all the hospitals and the police – but where was he? And why wouldn’t he get in touch?
As a mum, my survival instinct kicked in and I began to panic about how I would cope on my own. Money was my immediate concern. I didn’t have a job so I couldn’t pay for childcare or buy anything.
In sheer desperation, I sold my wedding ring and used the money to buy a bottle of milk, a loaf of bread and some gas for our car.
The money helped tide me over for about a week, but I knew I had to do something urgently. To save money, I began skipping meals and bought food only for the boys.
One day I had just a small packet of sausages, which I divided among my kids. Although I was hungry, I couldn’t bear to see them go without, so I didn’t eat.
Another big concern was the house – we were in a rental not in the army quarters. I knew there was no way I could pay the rent.
I was stressed, confused and desperate and it all began to take a toll on me. Within weeks I had been hospitalised suffering from severe malnutrition and depression; my body could not take any more.
Thankfully the military looked after the boys for a month while I was bedridden.
During that frustrating time, I lay in bed thinking, “What did I do to deserve this?” If it hadn’t been for my boys I don’t know what I’d have done. I was in such a dark place I struggled to find the will to live.
It was while I was in hospital that I saw George for the first and last time since he’d walked out on us two weeks earlier.
The military must have told him I was in hospital and he needed to come and deal with the situation. He walked in, looking furious, as if I meant nothing to him.
I broke down as soon as he walked in, asking, “Why did you leave us?”
He glanced down at me. “I don’t want to be married to you any more,” he said, deadpan. “And I just want to be a father when I can.”
He offered no further explanation and when I begged and begged him to reconsider and come home to me and his children, he just shook his head and said, “I can’t.”
He was so cold – this was the love of my life and he obviously felt absolutely nothing.
It was as if I was an old shoe that was no longer wanted and being tossed away.
If he had told me I was a bad wife I might have understood, but he just said, “I just don’t want to be married any more.’’
I begged him to change his mind, but he wouldn’t listen. Then without even bidding goodbye, he just walked out, never to be seen again.
After a month I was discharged from the hospital and given a choice by the social services: “Live on your own or live in a shelter, but you will have to give up your kids to foster care if you do.” I shook my head. “Over my dead body,” I told them. “I would never give up on my sons.’’
I had no money and no job, but I had a car. I had no other option but to live in our Honda Odyssey van with my kids, but I’d rather that than split up the family.
We couldn’t afford petrol, but for two months I found odd jobs here and there – as a nursing assistant – and was feeding the boys using food stamps, provided by the government for low-income families.
A relative eventually helped us with money to get back to California, and it was there I finally landed a full-time job as a sales rep.
We slept on the floor on a mattress in my relative’s home for two months. During this time I managed to enrol my boys into school.
As for my husband, I had absolutely no idea where he was. He’d made it clear that he didn’t want anything to do with me and so I had to do what everyone told me to – close my eyes and walk away.
I worked hard and put in extra hours at work to earn enough for us to live. It was extremely difficult being a single parent, and I used to be exhausted by the time I returned home after a punishing day at work. But at no point did I want to give up my children for foster care.
Although the money I earned was just enough for our food and the boys’ schooling, I was happy we were together. That was the most important thing.
Of course, the going was tough. I’d save money by not buying new clothes for myself and having a small meal just so I could give the boys more. On many nights I’d cry myself to sleep, making sure that the boys didn’t see me and get upset. I kept wondering why my husband had left. But I just couldn’t get answers.
Although I was not earning a lot, I found an inexpensive apartment to move into with the boys.
As time passed I became close with a few colleagues who began to comment on how similar to Oprah Winfrey I looked. “Oh my gosh, you could pass off as Oprah any day,” one of the girls kept telling me.
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that. For years people had told me I looked like her and I’d lost count of the times I had been asked for my autograph. But I was so lacking in confidence I’d almost laugh at myself and say, “How can little old me look like someone as amazing as Oprah?”
But truth be told, since the moment Oprah exploded on to our TV screens, I was amazed at how alike we were.
It wasn’t just our faces, it was our mannerisms and our lives seemed to mirror each other. It was almost as if we were twins separated at birth.
But because I was too busy trying to keep a roof over my boys’ heads, I didn’t have time to think about it.
After more than a year, a good friend one day took me aside and said, “You know what? You have been alone long enough, we need to find you someone.’’
I just shrugged it off. I wasn’t interested in a relationship as I was still struggling to get to grips with my life.
But one day, without my knowledge, she put my details up on a dating website and I got a call from a guy called John. We talked online and on the phone, and after a week, we agreed to meet.
He took me to a Chinese restaurant for dinner in Thousand Oaks, California, close to where we both lived, and there was an instant spark between us. But much more than that, I was blown away by the fact he took the information that I had three children all in his stride.
Of course, I was wary – who wouldn’t be after what George did? – but as time went on, I realised that John was nothing like George and a wonderful man who loved me and, better still, loved my kids too.
Almost two years after George walked out, I was now able to relax a bit because I had a steady job and the kids were in school.
Then in May 2000, John popped the question and, completely and utterly overjoyed, I accepted.
We married the same month and, along with the kids, moved in together.
But it wasn’t until 2007 that life really began to take an unexpected turn for the better, when a friend begged me to enter an Oprah Winfrey lookalike competition.
Just like me, Oprah had endured a difficult childhood and, just like me, Oprah struggled with her weight. She even seemed to change her hairstyle at the same time that I would change mine.
We were living parallel lives and I loved her right from the first time I saw her on screen.
She was such an amazing woman, who channelled such positivity despite where she came from.
So when a small ad about the lookalike contest appeared in a local newspaper, my friend came running to me with it.
“Carol, you just have to enter,’’ she said. “You will definitely make it.” She kept begging me so much, I thought it might be a good idea.
It was for a US TV show, and when I walked into the room, even the producers and the make-up girls fell silent; they just could not get over how similar I looked to Oprah.
I had to dress, walk and talk like her – much like auditioning for a role. I didn’t win that day – I came second – but it was the start of a career that has not just changed my life, but my family’s too.
From that moment I got an agent and began working full-time as an Oprah impersonator. It meant I was paid to appear as Oprah at corporate events; parties, weddings – you name it, I’ve done it. One of the first events was a birthday party and it went really well. The first thing I did with the money was take my boys to the local theme park. I was overwhelmed to see them enjoying themselves.
One time a family paid me to appear at their grandma’s 90th birthday and when I walked into the room, the lady just broke down. She was such a fan of Oprah and really thought her family had arranged for the real Oprah to be there.
She was in absolute shock and even when I explained I was just an impersonator, I don’t think she really believed it. I sang her happy birthday and she looked like the happiest lady in the world.
I also appear for free at some charity events because, just like Oprah, I believe it is crucial to give back. Seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they see me makes me realise how lucky I am.
I often appear at Make-A-Wish Foundation events. When someone has asked to meet Oprah, I go, give them a hug and have my photo taken with them. I always sign any autographs ‘O’ for Oprah, but then the words “double Take’ as Oprah Double Take is my stage name and I would never want anyone to think I am pretending to be the real deal.
Over the years I’ve studied pictures of Oprah and learnt to put on make-up and do my hair exactly how she does, and buy similar outfits.
At the start, I’d spend six hours a day putting on my make-up and buy as many replica outfits as I could afford. But I’ve gone out wearing no make-up and I still get people coming up to me, thinking I’m Oprah.
One time I was at an airport waiting to collect my bags and I could see everyone pointing at me.
Eventually a man came up and said, “Miss Winfrey, can I help you with your luggage?”
And even though I insisted I was not her, he would not believe me.
Another time I was waiting to pay in a supermarket and a man came up to me, pointed to a magazine and said, “Your photo is on the cover!”
On a few occasions someone in a crowd has shouted “Get a real job,” but most of the reaction is positive.
The negatives are far outweighed the many positives being Oprah has brought into my life. With each day that I embraced Oprah into my life, my confidence, which was once shattered, has grown.
Oprah has inspired so many people to see their own self-worth, and that’s what she has done for me. Finally I felt pretty, I felt successful and, most of all, I felt strong.
The dark days were behind me and finally I was happily married and able to give my family the life they deserved. One of my biggest achievements is to see that my boys are happy.
I have been working as a full-time Oprah impersonator for five years now. The money I make from doing it is helping to put my kids through college, and I could not ask for more than that.
I have never met Oprah, but I dream of one day being able to thank her face to face for all she has done for me. Thanks to her, I am finally living the perfect life.”
Carol Woodle, 59, lives in California, US
