As one of the world's most watched TV personalities, Dr Phil McGraw has helped millions of people through their personal dilemmas with his soothing words and practical advice.

But helping others has come at a price for the therapist and relationship specialist. Dr Phil has been battling his own heartache due to the fact that his long-running talk show is putting pressure on his marriage. This culminated in his recent shock decision to quit the show.

Well, that is until his number one fan Oprah Winfrey lent a shoulder for him to cry on, and effectively saved his career and his 32-year marriage.

Putting his family first

Although they have been subjected to infidelity rumours, the real strain on Dr Phil and his wife Robin's relationship has been the hours he has to put into his talk show - it's practically torn them apart. So, in desperation, Dr Phil decided he would turn his back on his show, the global fame it's brought him as well as the yearly salary of more than $30 million it helps him earn, in the hope he could save his marriage.

But just as an announcement was being prepared, he received a phone call that changed the course of his life forever.

Oprah Winfrey, the woman who's responsible for making him a star in
the first place, called to say she wanted Dr Phil and Robin to come up to her sprawling property, the Promised Land, near Santa Barbara in California so she could spend the weekend with them.

With nothing to lose, Dr Phil and Robin accepted the offer. And over two days Oprah turned their lives upside down in the same way she does for ordinary people day in, day out on her hit show.

'Dr Phil was completely unprepared for Oprah's ambush,' a close friend of the couple says.

'She explained why she thought he was making a huge mistake. She told him he was making a difference with his work and helping people all over the world, and that while she respected his decision to prioritise his family, she was convinced they could find a way for him to put his marriage first and continue to do the show.'

Oprah takes action

Oprah's mission to help Dr Phil find a balance began by finding out just how stressful his job's become.

'He explained how his gruelling 14-hour days are packed full of filming, editorial discussions, production meetings and strategising with his advisers, his agent and his manager,' the insider tells New Idea.

'So by the time he gets home to Robin, there's no time to do much more than eat and fall asleep.'

Oprah immediately placed a call to a senior production coordinator at her multimedia company Harpo Productions, which is responsible for The Oprah Winfrey Show and partly owns Dr Phil.

Over the next few hours, Dr Phil and Oprah planned his working week and, with the help of the senior production coordinator, took an axe to his schedule. Oprah forced Dr Phil to create an agenda in which anything that was not imperative was cut from it.

'He was basically listening and watching Oprah save his life in front of his eyes,' the TV insider says.

At first Dr Phil was nervous, telling Oprah: 'My agent and manager are going to go bananas, and I'm not sure the show will keep running without me.'

But a tearful Robin was quick to help Oprah convince Dr Phil that if his working day could be cut to eight hours, then they would have more than enough quality time together.

'Robin loved Oprah's plans to keep weekends work-free - it sounded like heaven to her,' the source says.

Stronger than ever

Armed with a plan to save their long marriage, Dr Phil and Robin returned to their home in Los Angeles. And instead of releasing a statement to announce the end of the show as he had intended, Dr Phil finally spoke out about the cruel divorce rumours that have been plaguing him and his wife.

Calling the speculation 'absolutely, unequivocally, blatantly false', Dr Phil explained the heartbreak of hearing his friends and extended family were worried he and Robin were about to divorce.

And in a final emotional statement, Dr Phil made his true feelings about his wife and their marriage clear when he recalled: 'The day Robin buried her mother she said: "I'm an orphan. I've got no people." I said: "That's not true because I will never leave you."'
By Henry Meller