Gayle King dishes on her SI Swimsuit cover, how bestie Oprah accommodates her needs

In a weekly series USA TODAY’s The Essentials, celebrities share what fuels their lives whether it's at home, on the set or on the road.

What fuels Gayle King, "CBS Mornings" co-anchor, Oprah Daily's editor-at-large, host of her own SiriusXM show, and as of May, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model? Well, her most recently acquired title required one thing: courage (and a cheeseburger from room service the night before her shoot).

"Because when they asked me, I honestly I thought I was being 'Punk'd,'" says King, 69. "I didn't think that it was serious."

But SI earnestly wondered if King would pose for its 60th anniversary issue, not mentioning the cover initially. (King's fellow cover stars, Kate Upton and Hunter McGrady surprised King with the news on "CBS Mornings.")

Before accepting the opportunity, King consulted with her "kitchen cabinet," compiled of her children, Kirby Bumpus and William Bumpus Jr., and her longtime best friend, Oprah (has anyone needed a last name less?) Winfrey. "Because I didn't want to look silly," King says.

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Her kids, who she refers to as "favorite son" and "favorite daughter," encouraged King to "go for it."

King recalls telling Winfrey, "This could be so fun."

"She said, 'Well, you and I have different ideas of fun.' And she's right about that," says King. "We'll be somewhere. I go, 'Don't you want to go out and explore the town?' She said, 'It's going to look just the way it looks in the pictures.' … But she thought it was great."

And King enjoyed the experience, though she would've picked the image in which she donned a plunging one-piece by Eres in yellow, her favorite color. Read on for the other necessities that bring King joy, from baths to music.

Scrub-a-dub-dub: Gayle King needs a tub

Some might remember Winfrey telling James Corden on his CBS late-night program that her tub had been hand-carved to fit her body. "Bathing, I'm serious about it," Winfrey explained during the 2018 appearance. King also delights in a soak.

"I've gone into a (hotel) room, a gorgeous suite," she says. "And (if) they don't have a tub, I will call down to the front desk and say, 'Is there another room where you could move me to?' Because I like sitting in a tub."

The journalist reaches for Johnson's Baby Bubble Bath or L'Occitane's citrusy variety to create her craved suds.

"I just like something that gives you nice bubbles, and I like the water hot."

Gayle King, Oprah agree to disagree on the TV

From her tub, King can keep an eye on another essential, the tube. She has a "good-sized" television in her bathroom, though she doesn’t specify dimensions.

"I'm not going to say it's a giant ass screen, but it's a nice size," King says. "I don't have to squint to watch it."

She watches Bravo's "Real Housewives" and CNN's Abby Phillip. King drifts off to sleep by the TV nightly, motivating her bestie to make special accommodations.

"In Oprah's home, no room has a television in it except the bedroom where I stay," King says with a laugh. "And she said to me, 'You'd be surprised no one else ever asks if there's a TV. No one complains about not having (a TV).' I said, 'Well, they're not telling you the truth.'"

Music is Gayle King’s 'happy place'

"My musical taste is all over the place," King praising the talents of Gracie Abrams, Andrea Bocelli, Luke Combs, Missy Elliott and Megan Moroney during her interview.

"I can't even explain to you how much I love music," King says, referring to it as her "happy place." "I'm trying to figure out how I can see Taylor Swift on the road. I've already seen the Eras tour, but people say you should see it in a foreign country. I'm trying to figure out how I can do that or just be at her last show in December.

"You can be in a terrible mood and a good song can come on and can instantly change things. And there's sometimes the music is so good it literally makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck."

Gayle King's workout sometimes happens at 4 a.m.

King's routine includes cardio – done on the treadmill or elliptical – and weights.

"I know that that's very, very, very important for the boneses," she says of the latter. "So I've now incorporated more strength training."

When she's traveling, a hotel must have a gym accessible 24 hours a day.

"Because I'm on different time zones. So when I'm on the West Coast, it is not unusual for me to be in the gym at 4 because for me it's 7 here."

'Jackpot!' star John Cenaloves rappers, good coffee and a fine tailored suit

Is Gayle King dating?

"I have a really great life, but would it be great to have somebody to share it with? Yes, absolutely," King admits.

She says her colleague, CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan, suggested King's children and her co-anchors — Nate Burleson and Tony Dokoupil — should screen suitors and select dates for King.

"I go, 'Anybody who would do that isn't somebody that you think you’d want as a partner,'" King says. "There must be another way (other) than a nationwide let's find a man for Gayle (search) on 'CBS Mornings.'"

King says she isn't dating anyone "that's worth mentioning," describing herself as "alert and available.”

And approaching the Emmy-winner is less complicated than one might expect. She says people can open with a simple hello: "'Hi, Gayle.' Let's start with that."