Arsenio Hall recently returned to television with his new late-night talk show, but he spent much of the last 14 years out of the spotlight. During that time, he says he considered his job to be stay-at-home dad to his son, Arsenio Jr.
"When I became a dad, I really fell in love with fatherhood," Hall says in the above clip from his upcoming appearance on "Oprah's Next Chapter." "So I didn't care about show business at that point."
"Were you actively pursuing becoming a dad?" Oprah asks.
"Absolutely," Hall says. "Yeah, me and my girl wanted a kid," he says, referring to his former girlfriend and manager, Cheryl Bonacci. "And that's so important to me -- to always be able to look in my son's eyes and say, 'You weren't a mistake. You weren't a surprise. I wanted you. I wanted you like my dad wanted me.'"
Hall's father was a pastor, who met his wife at church. "My mother married the older man," Hall says. "My mother was the secretary … who worked in the church on summer vacation, and fell in love with the pastor who was her dad's best friend. So it tells you a lot about me."
Oprah's interview with Hall on "Oprah's Next Chapter" airs Sunday, Oct. 20 at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.