Television personality Kathie Lee Gifford has announced she is not seeking a new romantic relationship, reflecting on widowhood in a recent interview with People.
The 72-year-old former television host explained her current stance on relationships ahead of the 11-year anniversary of her husband Frank Gifford's death this August.
“I am not dating anybody right now, and I don't want to date,” she said.
She also expressed that she has no intentions of walking down the aisle again.
“I'm not looking, and I don't think I'll ever get married again,” Gifford added.
The television star mentioned a past potential romance that ultimately did not progress further.
“I had an opportunity for that to maybe happen, and it didn't work out,” she said.
However, she remains open to unexpected possibilities while honoring the memory of her late husband.
“Frank will always be the love of my life.
If God wants to do something miraculous, like give me another great love [then I'm open to it].
And so I leave room for the miraculous to happen,” Gifford said.
Marriage and Healing
Gifford married the sports broadcaster in 1986, and they navigated public marital difficulties together, including an infidelity incident in 1997.
“I came home a week after that happened [to reconcile with Frank],” she said.
She shared that many individuals frequently approach her to discuss their own experiences with marital healing.
“There's not a day that goes by that somebody doesn't come up to me and say, 'I just want you to know I had separated from my husband, and I went back.
We went for counseling. We healed our marriage,'” Gifford said.
Frank Gifford passed away from a massive heart attack on August 9, 2015, at their family home.
She recalled trying to revive him alongside her son before emergency medical services arrived.
“Cody was home from school, and we tried to resuscitate him,” she said.
First responders comforted the family, telling her, “Mrs. Gifford, we just want you to know your husband, he never suffered.
He never saw the ground he fell on.”
Following his death, post-mortem evaluations revealed that Frank Gifford suffered from stage 4 Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
“We donated his brain to science to be studied for CTE, which my son is very, very involved with now,” Gifford said.
She emphasized that degenerative brain injuries affect many people beyond professional athletes.
“A lot of people have brain trauma all over the world, not just football players,” she said.
Gifford noted that her late husband had frequently acknowledged their 23-year age gap and felt at peace with his mortality.
“He was one week shy of his 85th birthday, but he was ready to go,” she said.
She remembered his final thoughts: “He said, 'You know, hon, I'm not afraid. I'm starting to get really curious.'”
Currently, Gifford focuses on writing her new book, filming an autobiographical documentary, and enjoying her role as a grandmother to five grandchildren.
“I need to find joy in the moment I'm in right now, because none of us know when is our last breath,” she said.
She emphasized appreciating immediate experiences rather than delaying personal fulfillment.
“Instead of [saying], 'One day I'm going to take that vacation, one day I'm going to do this...'
, find joy right now,” Gifford said.
