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Kathie Lee Gifford visits "FOX & Friends" at Fox News Channel Studios on August 30, 2022 in New York City© Getty

Kathie Lee Gifford shares poignant personal message as former Today co-star shows support

The Today Show alum has stayed on good terms with her co-stars 

Hanna Fillingham
US Managing Editor
October 1, 2023
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Kathie Lee Gifford has enjoyed an incredible career in the spotlight, and was in a reflective mood at the end of the week. 

The mother-of-two took to Instagram to shine a light on one of her career highs to date, that had a particularly special place in her heart. 

The author looked back on the movie she had written for her friend, Craig Ferguson, called Then Came You, and highlighted the important message of the movie - that it's never too late for love. 

VIDEO: Kathie Lee Gifford shares glimpse inside her lavish home

She wrote: "Then Came You, a movie I wrote for my dear friend @CraigyFerg, premiered 3 years ago today! I so enjoyed spending 6 weeks in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland filming with him… Who wouldn’t? I love the film's message— that it is never too late for love and always a bad idea not to laugh." 

Kathie's post was met with a mass of likes and comments from her followers, including her former Today co-star Hoda Kotb, who showed her support. 

View post on Instagram
 

Kathie and Hoda are great friends, having formed a close bond from their days co-hosting the Fourth Hour show on the NBC morning program, between 2008 and 2019, when Kathie announced her retirement. 

Hoda previously opened up about their working relationship during an appearance on Just B with Bethenny Frankel. "Kathie Lee said... 'If it's not Hoda, I'm not going to do it,'" the TV favorite told the podcast, as she recalled the moment Kathie was asked who she wanted to sit next to her on the show as a co-star. 

Kathie Lee Gifford posing in a white dress with Hoda Kotb and Jill Martin© NBC
Kathie Lee Gifford has remained on good terms with her Today co-stars including Hoda Kotb

She went on to explain that Kathie Lee had chosen Hoda to host alongside her after spending just "one hosting day" together. 

"She chose me and I am forever grateful," Hoda said. During the chat, Hoda also opened up about how working with her friend and co-star was an instant mood booster, especially when it came to the times they were covering hard-hitting news. 

today hoda kotb emotional support kathie lee gifford
Kathie Lee and Hoda hosted Today's Fourth Hour together for 11 years

"When I sat with Kathie Lee, I was happy. And when I was in those scary places, I was putting a circle in a square. I was trying to be a war correspondent, I was trying to be the person who interviewed all these different kinds of people. … But deep down, that was not hitting for me." 

She said that she realized that "when you're happy, everything in life is better." "I felt like I'd been swimming upstream my whole life, and suddenly I was riding a wave. And I didn’t even know what riding a wave felt like. I thought life was always swimming upstream. I thought it was supposed to be a struggle. 

Cassidy Gifford, Cody Gifford and Kathie Lee Gifford  in 2018© Variety
Kathie with her two children Cassidy and Cody

"I thought I was supposed to have knots in my stomach. I thought I was supposed to be scared, am I going to do it? I thought I was always supposed to feel that way, because when you do something that's meaningful, it must be hard. Well, that’s not true." 

Kathie was replaced by Jenna Bush Hager in 2019, who she also has a close bond with.

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