Oprah Winfrey got emotional over her best friend Gayle King’s Blue Origin spaceflight Monday morning.

The former talk show host was filmed breaking down in tears when the rocket took off with King, Lauren Sánchez, Katy Perry and the rest of the NS-31 crew inside.

Winfrey, 71, explained during the livestream that she has “never been more proud” of her pal after nearly 50 years of friendship.

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Oprah Winfrey cried during Gayle King’s Blue Origin spaceflight.Blue Origin

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The former talk show host has “never been more proud” of her friend of nearly 50 years
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She was filmed watching her pal take off in Monday’s livestream
“Because this is bigger than going to space for her,” Winfrey noted, adding that whenever King, 70, is on an airplane, she ends up “in somebody’s lap if there’s the slightest bit of turbulence.”

The media mogul gushed that the spaceflight would be “cathartic in so many ways” for King as she overcame “a wall of fear, a barrier.”

The “CBS Mornings” host, notably, kissed the ground upon landing and said it was “nice to be back on the ground.”

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King overcame a “wall of fear” by agreeing to go on the all-female flight.Blue Origin/Mega

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Winfrey said she hates even the “slightest turbulence” on airplanes.
Winfrey, who wore yellow as a tribute to King, wanted her friend to go to space so she wouldn’t “regret” the missed opportunity later on.

She said, “I think life is about continuing to grow into the best of yourself and the fullest expression of yourself. And … I didn’t want to hear about it for the next 50 years, ‘I wish I had gone.’”

Winfrey recalled telling King, “There’s only one time that all the women are going for the first time. There will be other trips, but there’s only one first time, so to be a pioneer is great.”

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She pushed King to join Perry, Sánchez and the other women involved as a “pioneer.”
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Winfrey didn’t want to hear about King’s “regret[s]” for “the next 50 years.”
“I don’t know how to explain being terrified and excited at the same time. It’s like how I felt about to deliver a baby,” she said at the time, adding that she spoke to her children and Winfrey before making the choice.

Before the rocket’s lift off, King was spotted looking visibly stressed in her high-fashion space suit.

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Upon landing, King kissed the ground.Blue Origin

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The “proud” journalist couldn’t “believe” she had gone to space.AP
King excitedly celebrated her landing on Monday, saying she was “still floating” and “couldn’t believe” what she had accomplished.

“The flight instructor said that I am her best success story … because she’s never had someone do the course that’s terrified of flying,” she gushed.

King confirmed that she was “very glad she did it” and didn’t have any “regrets” about going “out of [her] comfort zone.”

In fact, she now feels able to “take on anything” and might even pierce her ears.

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She now feels able to “take on anything.”Blue Origin

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The “CBS Mornings” host is “very glad” she took part in the historic moment.
The journalist will “never forget” the “peace and kindness” she felt in space during the “oddly quiet” flight — which did include Perry, 40, singing “What a Wonderful World.”

The “Firework” singer also had a special guest in attendance when she took off, with her 4-year-old daughter, Daisy, watching from Texas.

Perry brought one of her little one’s namesake flowers into space to honor her