Kathie Lee Gifford Opens Up About the Year That Nearly Broke Her — and What Got Her Through It

Their experiences came at different points in their lives and unfolded in very different ways. Now, their separate stories reveal just how suddenly life changed for both former morning-show stars — and how each responded when things took an unexpected turn.

Kathie Lee Gifford and Katie Couric became two of the most familiar faces in morning television, welcoming millions of viewers into their lives during their respective years on Today. Long after leaving the show, however, both women have faced deeply personal health struggles that few watching them back then could have imagined.

For years, Kathie Lee Gifford was one of morning television's most recognizable faces. After a long career that stretched from Name That Tune to her years on Today, viewers grew accustomed to her warmth, quick humor, and willingness to share pieces of her life on camera.

Kathie Lee Gifford Left Morning TV, but She Never Considered Herself Retired

Gifford ultimately left Today in 2019 to pursue other passions, including writing religious nonfiction. Still, she made one thing clear: "I never said I retired."

Away from the daily television grind, Gifford settled into life in Tennessee and continued working. She wrote books, spent time with her growing family, and, more recently, filmed a documentary about herself produced by her longtime friend Kris Jenner.

Yet the years after the rise of morning television also brought major changes and losses. Her husband, NFL and broadcasting legend Frank Gifford, died at 84 in 2015. The Pro Football Hall of Famer died of natural causes at the couple's Connecticut home.

At the same time, his family later said signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, were discovered in his brain after his death. Fox News reported on the family's account of his final years.

In the years that followed, Gifford built a new chapter in Tennessee. She also welcomed five grandchildren in three years: her son Cody's children, Frank, Ford, and Faith, and her daughter Cassidy's children, Finn and Rosie.

Those grandchildren became a huge source of joy. Then, over the course of one punishing year, Gifford found herself unable to enjoy that time with them in the way she wanted.

A Series of Setbacks Turned Everyday Life Into a Struggle For Glifford

Gifford had spent decades pushing herself physically in the entertainment business. Looking back, she said her career had taken a greater toll on her body than she once realized. She recalled performing as Miss Hannigan in Annie at Madison Square Garden in 2006 and throwing herself into pratfalls so that children in the audience could see the performance clearly.

"When I look back on all of these years in this industry, I go, 'I can't believe I didn't fall apart years ago,'" she said. "I've never abused [my body], I just used it."

Eventually, the wear and tear caught up with her in a brutal chain of physical problems. According to Gifford's account of her difficult year, she underwent a total hip replacement, only to need another surgery after being too active while trying to play with her grandchildren and fracturing it again.

Then came more trouble. Gifford broke her arm after rolling over on it incorrectly one night. Later, a fall on uneven pavement caused another broken bone, and problems with her depth perception eventually led to cataract surgery.

The sheer number of procedures was enough to inspire one of Gifford's characteristically self-deprecating jokes. "I feel like Mr. Potato Head! One thing falls off and then another," Gifford said. "But you have to have a sense of humor about everything. Thank God I've never lost that, even in my bleakest moments. I'm a tough broad."

Behind the jokes, however, was a much darker reality.

The Pain Took Away the Moments She Wanted Most

As her physical problems mounted, Gifford's world became smaller. The woman who had spent decades moving from one project to another was now struggling with chronic pain that affected even her relationship with her grandchildren.

"I couldn't carry them, I couldn't love on them, I couldn't run and play with them," she said. "All I could do was sit there and sing and write silly songs with them."

Gifford also began going out less frequently. The change reminded her of her late husband, who had once explained why declining health made public appearances difficult for him. She remembered Frank telling her that when he went somewhere, people expected to see the version of him they knew.

Gifford understood the feeling. "Frank said to me before he passed, 'When I go somewhere, I know what people are expecting from me. I want to be Frank Gifford when I go out,'" she recalled. "I want to be Kathie Lee, the person they expect. I don't want to disappoint people."

Then she revealed just how severe her suffering had become:

"But when you're in pain, it's so debilitating, and everything's a grimace. I've had emotional pain many times in my life, but never this chronic physical pain where you literally want to go home to Jesus."

'I Wanted to Die a Few Times' — Then Gifford's Life Began to Change

In her lowest moments, Gifford's thoughts became painfully bleak. She remembered praying, "Lord, if this is all you have left for me, I want to go home." Then came her most startling admission:

"I wanted to die a few times. I wasn't going to hurt myself. I wasn't going to kill myself. I just didn't want to be here — as blessed as I am."

For Gifford, faith had long been woven into every part of her life. During a year when her body seemed to fail her one piece at a time, that faith remained at the center of how she endured.

Recovery did not happen overnight. Following her surgeries, Gifford committed to physical therapy six days a week and underwent stem cell therapy. The work has paid off: She said she can now run "all over the place" with her grandchildren. "They're all fantastic," she said. "I'm hoping, Lord willing, that I have many, many years with them."

Gifford's story is not the only recent health revelation involving a woman once welcomed into millions of homes through Today.

Hours of Katie Couric's Life Suddenly Went Missing

Veteran journalist Katie Couric, whose years on the Today show made her another defining face of morning television, recently revealed that several hours of her life had simply disappeared from her memory.

The frightening episode unfolded on June 27 while Couric was attending the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado. Couric remembers the day until "about noon." But according to an ABC News report on her health scare, everything from then until "at least 7 p.m." is a "big, black hole" in her memory.

That gap included two panel discussions Couric participated in that afternoon. Her husband, John Molner, noticed something was wrong after her final panel, saying she appeared "weak and dizzy." At the hospital, Couric struggled to recall the date, the president, and the names of some relatives.

Doctors initially evaluated her for a possible stroke. An MRI showed no evidence of one, and Couric was ultimately diagnosed with transient global amnesia. "While this was a freaky occurrence, it could have been much more serious," Couric wrote. "So ultimately, I'm relieved -- even though several hours of a Saturday in June will always be missing for me."

What Couric's Diagnosis Means

Transient global amnesia is a sudden episode of temporary memory loss that usually lasts between one and 24 hours. According to the National Library of Medicine's overview of the condition, it primarily affects middle-aged and older adults.

During an episode, a person may be unable to form new memories, temporarily lose access to recent memories, and repeatedly ask the same questions.

People can become disoriented about their surroundings and the people around them while still retaining awareness of who they are. The condition typically resolves without lasting neurological deficits, and supportive care and reassurance are the primary approaches once other serious causes have been ruled out. Recurrence can happen, though it is considered uncommon.

For Couric, the episode added another chapter to a history already touched deeply by illness. In 2022, Couric revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer after an exam led to a biopsy. She underwent a lumpectomy and radiation treatment, later saying she felt fortunate that the disease had been discovered when it was.

The diagnosis was particularly emotional given her family's painful history with cancer. Her first husband, Jay Monahan, died of colon cancer in 1998 at only 42, while Couric has also spoken about losing her sister Emily and facing other cancer diagnoses within her family.

After the Hardest Year, Gifford Is Looking Forward Again

While Katie Couric is relieved that her mysterious memory loss was not a stroke, Gifford is also emerging from her own difficult period with renewed gratitude. At 72, she is continuing to work. Beyond her upcoming documentary, she has written more than a dozen books, including Nero and Paul, part of her Ancient Evil, Living Hope series.

She is also making major decisions about the life she built with Frank. After seven years in Tennessee, Gifford is selling the Connecticut home where the couple raised Cody and Cassidy. The property has been listed for $100 million, a decision she said took a long time to make.

For a woman who admitted that chronic pain once left her wishing she could go home to Jesus, the contrast is striking. Gifford is working, writing, laughing, and, perhaps most importantly, running after the five grandchildren she once could only watch from a chair.

Through it all, she credits a quality she says has guided both her public and private life. "I think the secret to being not just alive but thriving is authenticity," Gifford said. "I've never been a different person on camera as off. I’ve never separated my spiritual life and my secular life. It's all the same."