Barbara Walters, a trailblazing journalist known for interviewing world leaders and celebrities, faced a private sorrow that rarely made headlines — her complicated relationship with her adopted daughter, Jackie.

Ahead of a new documentary on Walters’ life, her close friend Cynthia McFadden revealed that Walters’ deepest regret wasn’t in her career but in not having the close mother-daughter bond she yearned for. Despite her success, Walters often felt a painful void, telling friends she admired their family lives but couldn’t relate.