While Oprah Winfrey may seem, like an endless forest or a mighty river, to be something that always has been and always will be, it turns out she actually does have parents. One of them is getting divorced. His second wife says he tried to kill her.

The Tennessean reports that Oprah's father Vernon, 79, filed for divorce from his wife of twelve years, Barbara Winfrey, 64, in June, claiming she was guilty of "inappropriate marital conduct" and citing irreconcilable differences.

Then things got bonkers. Barbara Winfrey filed a counter-claim, alleging Vernon "chased her with a gun and threatened to shoot her." She accused him of multiple instances of infidelity over the course of their marriage. She even drew our Lord and Protector Queen O into the fray, claiming the media titan is in cahoots with her father to cast Barbara, penniless, out of the $1.5 million home Oprah purchased for the couple.

For what it's worth, it seems Oprah is rarely in cahoots with her father.

In 2007, when the New York Daily News broke the news to Oprah that her dad was writing a book about his life, Oprah responded:

"The last person in the world to be doing a book about me is Vernon Winfrey. The last person."

(Vernon claimed the book, which was never published, would be primarily about his own life.)

More recently, in a video posted on the Tennessean website, Vernon tells a television reporter that he hasn't received a birthday call from Oprah but that she did send him two sweet potato pies earlier in the week. He adds that he's lately had a bit of trouble getting in touch with his famous daughter.

"I called her Sunday for her birthday, but she was not home. But her guard would convey to her that Dad had called to wish her a happy birthday. I might give her a ring today to see where she's located."

A few weeks ago, Oprah purchased the Nashville barbershop run by her father after the property went into foreclosure. Barbara Winfrey, who had been the co-owner of the building with Vernon, told a camera crew "[Oprah] doesn't care about the barbershop."

Oprah really needs to sit down and see how much she can get Oprah to open up about all this.

[Tennessean via Newser // Image via Getty]