Kathie Lee Gifford shares the power of faith in times of crisis

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Kathie Lee Gifford supports ‘great friend’ Regis Philbin amid Kelly Ripa drama

October 11, 2022

They sat side by side for more than 15 years as two of the greatest TV talk show co-hosts of all time, first in 1985 on “The Morning Show” and then together on the scale. national in 1988 for “Live!” with Regis and Kathie Lee. “

It’s no surprise, then, that Kathie Lee Gifford recalled only positive memories of working with Regis Philbin amid claims that Kelly Ripa, who filled Gifford’s seat in 2001 when she left the show l previous year, had had difficulties with the late broadcaster.

“I’m not going to comment on Kelly’s story. It’s hers. She can say whatever she wants,” Gifford told Fox News Digital exclusively. “I’m a big believer in freedom of speech. I don’t think we’re supposed to cancel anyone. She has the right to tell her story as she remembers it.”

Ripa, a former ‘All My Children’ star, came under fire earlier this month when excerpts from her new memoir revealed her ‘great privilege’ of working with Philbin, as well as the heavy burden of a ‘relationship less than easy work”.

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Kathie Lee Gifford has refused to allow negative comments about her late friend, legendary broadcaster Regis Philbin.
(Getty Pictures)

“My experience with Regis was one of the greatest experiences of my entire life,” Gifford said. “I worked with him for 15 years. We never had a single mean word between us.”

The “God of the Way” author explained that her desire to leave the show when she was at the peak of her game in 2000 was to pursue her own artistic passions.

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“I wanted to be a writer, singer and actress like I started long before I met Régis,” she said. “I’m grateful for the 15 years I spent with him, but I had to leave, just like I had to get away.

“There are times in your life when you have to have the courage to make a huge change in your life. I walked away from the biggest daytime TV hit except Oprah that ever existed . I walked away from it because I needed to.”

Regis Philbin introduced new co-host Kelly Ripa in July 2001.
(Spencer Platt)

“I’m a big believer in free speech. I don’t believe we’re supposed to cancel anyone.”

—Kathie Lee Gifford

Kathie Lee Gifford and Regis Philbin reunited on the "Today" show in 2012.

Kathie Lee Gifford and Regis Philbin reunited on “Today” in 2012.
(Peter Kramer/NBC)

“Live! Starring Regis and Kathie Lee” first aired nationally in September 1988, three years after Regis and Kathie Lee were paired for the New York-based program, “The Morning Show.”

After years of ratings success, she left the program in July 2000. Regis took on hosting responsibilities on his own for a year as he searched for his next co-host, eventually finding his replacement at Ripa.

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“I don’t want to feel like I’m slamming someone or being disrespectful. But I also want people to know that it wasn’t a walk in the park. It took years to earn my place there- down and earn things that are regularly given to men I’ve worked with,” Ripa recently told People while detailing the “good days and bad days” she endured with Philbin.

Gifford, on the other hand, had a different experience, even when she had to leave the show.

“We were such good friends,” Gifford said. “He just didn’t like it, but he understood it. He loved me. We became close friends over the next 20 years.”

“I saw him two weeks before he died, and his wife told me that was the last time she would hear him laugh, and I cherish him.”

—Kathie Lee Gifford

Kathy Lee Gifford and Regis Philbin worked together for 15 years as co-hosts of two daytime talk shows.
(Ron Galella collection)

After taking an eight-year hiatus from live television, Gifford returned to the studio and worked with Hoda Kotb on the fourth hour of “Today” in 2008.

She remained with NBC until April 2019, during which she won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Talk Show Host.

Gifford has interviewed every major celebrity, discussed the hottest trends and biggest stories throughout his career on camera. Still, she reflected on her time with Régis, who died in 2020 at the age of 88.

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“I saw him two weeks before he died, and his wife told me that was the last time she would hear him laugh, and I treasure him,” Gifford said.

“So that says everything you need to know about how I feel about what Kelly is saying now.”

Kathie Lee Gifford and former professional footballer Frank Gifford (seen in 2008) have been married for almost 30 years and have two children together.
(Richard Corkery)

Gifford also had fond memories of her 30-year marriage to her late husband, Frank Gifford, who was a former New York Giants football player and television sports commentator.

Frank died in 2015 aged 84 and was also survived by their two children, Cody and Cassidy. “Well, he was more than an NFL star,” Gifford said of Frank. “Frank was one of the greatest footballers of all time… by Tom Brady a wonderful player. Frank always thought he was the greatest quarterback of all time… I don’t compare Frank to anyone else.”

Kathie Lee Gifford (seen in 2017) has always bragged about her two children with her late husband Frank, son Cody and daughter Cassidy.
(Greg Doherty)

The ‘Hello, Little Dreamer’ author says she had struggled in her marriage like ‘everyone else’, and was devastated when she learned the Super Bowl champion was in the midst of marital woes with Gisele Bündchen.

“God loves marriage. God instituted marriage for reason, for a purpose. The family is so important to God. … Marriages are under attack. Monogamy is under attack,” she said.

“I think marriage should be a sacred covenant. Now there are reasons why some people should get divorced, and they have physical reasons for…I don’t know their first story. I just know I’m sorry for them and their children.”

As for her new book and why it’s so important for her to be a part of faith-filled projects, Gifford admitted the whole explanation is a “miniseries.”

“My faith is everything, the essence of all that I am as a human being and beyond,” she shared. “So why don’t I make these movies that I make and write these books that I [write]… I dont have a religion. I have a relationship with a living God, which is more than a 24/7 situation. It’s a time. And that’s why I do it. That’s the short answer.”

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