hoda kotb and kathie lee gifford today© NBC

What Kathie Lee Gifford just said about returning to Today with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager

The former host of Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee and Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda returned to Studio 1A

Ahad Sanwari - New York
Senior WriterNew York
March 26, 2024

Kathie Lee Gifford entered a second wave of her daytime fame in 2008 when she joined the Fourth Hour of Today with Hoda Kotb, replacing Natalie Morales and Ann Curry.

The 70-year-old TV veteran returned to the iconic Studio 1A at Rockefeller Plaza on Tuesday, March 26 with her daughter Cassidy to promote their upcoming TV show The Baxters.

They were guests on Today with Hoda & Jenna with her former co-anchor Hoda and Jenna Bush Hager, and reminisced on times spent in the hot seat herself.

After leaving the show behind in December 2018, Kathie Lee reflected on being back, saying: "It feels good, it's been five years," and decided to get a little playful with the new hosts.

When Jenna asked: "Can you believe that?" she quipped back: "You wanted my job so badly. Hope you're happy now!" side eyeing them as they broke down laughing and hiding a snicker herself.

They couldn't hold back their laughter for a good few seconds, at which point her daughter Cassidy said: "So sorry, Jenna," and Jenna, 42, through her wheezing breath, responded: "Cassidy's about to die."

TODAY -- Pictured: Kathie Lee Gifford on Tuesday, March 26, 2024© Getty Images
Kathie Lee joined Hoda and Jenna on the Fourth Hour on March 26

Kathie Lee explained why she's so much more carefree about being open with her opinions, reasoning: "The older you get, the more you just let it fly," but when Jenna asked if she could do her Today hosting job now, she refused.

"I have said so often, especially in the days of when I was with Regis [Philbin], we talked for 23 minutes straight without a note. No writers, anything."

MORE: Live with Kelly and Ryan: looking back at all the feuds, fallouts and co-host exits from the show's history

"And back then, you weren't editing yourself all the time. And that's the trouble with today too, with humor. When you've gotta think about what you're going to say, the fun goes out."

© Getty Images
"Back then, you weren't editing yourself all the time. And that's the trouble with today too, with humor."

When Hoda, 59, asked if she ever edited with her, she teased in response: "I've got some stories on you, baby," joking that it'll all be in the "next book" when Jenna implored her to go on.

Previously on the show, Jenna and Hoda had joked about getting Kathie Lee on The Golden Bachelorette, and took the time to bring up the subject with her personally and get her thoughts on it.

MORE: Kathie Lee Gifford is completely unrecognizable in golden metallic disco-ready throwback

"Kathie, we want to apologize for causing drama around The Golden Bachelorette, but we stand by the fact that we think you'd be the best Golden Bachelorette of all time," Jenna said. Watch what they implied about her current relationship status below...

Hoda Kotb drops hint Kathie Lee Gifford is now single

Hoda maintained that it might just be a good idea to get her former co-anchor on the air to "earn" the respect of the male contestants. "The storyline would be really good because, first of all, you're not someone who would ever go sucking face with someone in a hot tub."

MORE: Kathie Lee Gifford left 'out of words' as she celebrates new bundle of joy in the family – photos

While Kathie Lee seemed to be jokingly considering the idea, Cassidy was, of course, less enthused. When asked if she would consider it, while being coy, she did reveal that they hadn't "offered it to me."

© NBC
Would Kathie Lee become the Golden Bachelorette? Maybe, with one condition...

She did state, however, that she had some requirements in mind for the show to be completely different, namely: "They would have to make (the men) much younger."

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