Kathie Lee Gifford, 72, reveals she ‘wanted to die’ during 'debilitating' health battle 9%
By Cydney Yeates For Dailymail.Com0%
6/30/2026, 2:49:16 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 20 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Emotion, Framing Effect, and Quote-first Misdirection, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 24.5% saturation with 137 hits. Analysis detected 723 faulty-reasoning hits from 559 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 25.9% and a BS Rank of 9% (19,947 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 91.10% of the article peer group.
Kathie Lee Gifford has revealed she was forced to undergo three surgeries after 'debilitating' physical pain left her 'wanting to die.'
Over the course of the past year, the former Today show co-host, 72, has had a total hip replacement, suffered a broken arm and had cataract surgery on her eyes.
Now, in a new interview, Gifford opened up about the mental toll of her physical ailments, revealing she was in such agony that she didn't feel like she could be herself.
'I want to be Kathie Lee, the person [the public] expect.
I don't want to disappoint people.
But when you're in pain, it's so debilitating, and everything's a grimace,' the television star told People.
'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.'
'I wasn't going to hurt myself,' she clarified.
'I wasn't going to kill myself.
I just didn't want to be here - as blessed as I am.'
Gifford, who shares children Cody, 36, and Cassidy, 32, with her late husband Frank, is a grandmother to Frank, four, Finn, three, Ford, two, Rosie, 13 months and Faith, 10 months.
Speaking to the outlet, she explained how her physical health prevented her from interacting with them, which was also extremely hard for her.
Kathie Lee Gifford (seen in 2024) was left in so much pain from her recently physical ailments that she 'wanted to die'
The former Today show co-host wasn't able to play with her grandkids due to the agony
'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 has faced a number of health challenges in recent years.
The former host of Live!
with Regis and Kathie Lee previously revealed she had a hip replacement surgery in 2024.
She then needed another surgery after injuring it again while playing with her grandchildren.
During her recovery, she also fractured her pelvis in two places after a freak fall at her home which left her hospitalized for over a week.
She also suffered from a broken arm when she rolled over on it one night while she was sleeping.
'I feel like Mr.
Potato Head!
One thing falls off and then another,' she joked.
Gifford, who shares children Cody and Cassidy with her late husband, is a grandmother to five
The presenter Gifford has faced a number of health challenges in recent years
'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.'
Gifford reflected on growing older with Yahoo in March, admitting: 'It just gets harder.
Everything gets harder.
The golden years?
It's a lie.'
'You can do all kinds of stuff to your body, but it knows how old you are and where you've been and what you did when you went there.'
Gifford's late husband Frank died in August 2015 at his Connecticut home aged 84.
His family later disclosed that he had been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is a progressive, degenerative brain disease.
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