"When you're part of a couple, you don't realize that the whole world is just made up of couples," Kathie Lee Gifford said.
Kathie Lee Gifford, 69, the host of Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, is a wildly popular news personality. The late NFL player and sports commentator, Frank Gifford, and the blonde beauty made headlines when the two got married. About two years before she became well-known, in 1986, Kathie and her now deceased husband said their "I do's."
But sadly, Kathie and Frank's 29 years of bliss came to an end when the former athlete passed away in 2015, per Hollywood Life. "I didn't have a reason to have to stay in this big house anymore," Kathie said about her Connecticut home. "I found myself dealing with crippling loneliness. I had to make a move to someplace physically, and I had to make emotional moves and spiritual moves. You gotta make new memories or the old ones are going to kill you," she told TODAY.
Kathie Lee Gifford opens up about her ‘crippling loneliness’ https://t.co/esTMh4N1b0 pic.twitter.com/nQXyXX71It
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"You battle different things as you get older, especially as a widow, you battle the loneliness when you lose a spouse," she said. "It dawned on me the other day, I'm a widow, I'm an orphan, because my mother also passed, and I'm an empty nester all at the same time."
"If you're not careful, what you've lost in life can define you. It's so much better to be defined by what you still have, it's just healthier. I'm making big changes in my life because I need to, really big changes that are feeding my soul. Otherwise, despair sets in and loneliness can be crippling," she said.
The news celebrity struggled with adjusting to being alone as she grappled with being an odd number. "When you're part of a couple, you don't realize that the whole world is just made up of couples,'' she said. "And all of a sudden, you're that odd number at a dinner party. You're the fifth, seventh, ninth person at the table. They're always making an adjustment for you."
"So I didn't want to go out and go alone to things. I go to professional things alone, but nothing social. I just wasn't comfortable. And I didn't want people giving me that widow look. 'Oh, how are you? Are you OK?'''
The grieving widow always anticipated outliving her husband. She was appreciative of their time together, nonetheless, per an emotional essay she penned for The Hollywood Reporter. "Well, the Lord gave me 29 years with him and two of the most incredible kids you’ll ever meet (son Cody, and daughter Cassidy)."
References:
https://hollywoodlife.com/feature/kathie-lee-gifford-husband-5000126/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Thos Robinson
