Although it’s been nearly five years since Kathie Lee Gifford, 70, famously exited the Today show, her former co-host, Hoda Kotb, just updated fans on what her former onscreen pal is up to now! The 59-year-old made the rare comment about Kathie during the January 10 episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna. Before Hoda got into the details, she assured viewers that Kathie is “living her best life.”
“By the way, Kat’s living her best life, she’s in Nashville, she’s writing music, she is living her best life,” the brunette beauty gushed, as reported by Page Six. “She’s playing with the cutest grandkids, putting out good music, so Kat, love you.” Kathie left the Today show in April 2019 after co-hosting for over 10 years. Now, Kathie’s a proud grandmother and often shares sweet moments of her grandbabies via social media.
Recently, Kathie shared a cute video with one of her grandkids via Instagram on January 7. “This is happiness!” she captioned the post, along with a white heart emoji. In the snippet, the Kathie Lee & Hoda alum held the little one in her lap and serenaded the baby with a song. Kathie is a proud mother to two adult children including her daughter, Cassidy Gifford, 30, and her son, Cody Gifford, 33. She welcomed the two with her late husband, Frank Gifford, who died in August 2015.
After the It’s Never Too Late author shared the sweet baby video, many of her 605K followers took to the comments to react. “I’m a grandmother and this is precious. Continue singing, Cathy [sic],” one admirer penned, while another added, “Nothing like time spent with the grands.” Fellow famous grandma, Kris Jenner, expressed her love for Kathie by “liking” the post. In total, Kathie is a grandmother to three children, as Cody has welcomed two children and Cassidy has welcomed one.
At the time of her exit, Kathie appeared on The Tonight Show and opened up about why she chose to leave the Today team. “After my husband passed, you really realize that you’re gonna run out of time. He didn’t know that morning he was running out of time,” she said during the 2019 TV appearance. “And then my mom passed, as well.” She then went on to explain that she had entered a new “state” of her life. “I realized just recently that I’m in a state where I never dreamed I’d be. I’m a widow, I’m an orphan and I’m an empty nester and that just hit me like a ton of bricks,” Kathie added. “For the first time in my life, I have the time and the means to go and do anything I want to do.”