Kathie Lee Gifford got candid about her life since the death of her husband and mother.
The “Today” show co-host opened up about what her life has been like the past four years during her front cover interview with AARP The Magazine, according to a report published Monday by Entertainment Tonight.
Gifford lives alone in her house since her husband passed in 2015 and her mother passed in 2017. Her kids, 25-year-old Cassie and 29-year-old Cody, have long since moved out of her Long Island home. (RELATED: Jenna Bush Hager Joins Hoda Kotb As New ‘Today’ Show Co-Host)
“It dawned on me the other day: I’m a widow, I’m an orphan because my mother also passed, and I’m an empty nester all at the same time,” Gifford said. “If you’re not careful, what you’ve lost in life can define you. It’s so much healthier to be defined by what you still have.”
Gifford admitted that she isolated herself after her husband died.
“I didn’t have to stay in this big house anymore. I found myself dealing with crippling loneliness. I had to make moves and spiritual moves,” Gifford said. “You gotta make new memories, or the old ones are going to kill you.”
Gifford has been moving on. She announced she’d be leaving the “Today” show this coming April after 11 years as a host. She’s also been writing a film titled, “Then Comes You.”