Dating as a senior adult can be difficult, but it can also be fun. Kathie Lee Gifford is finally experiencing the latter.
Dating as a senior adult and after losing a spouse of several decades is not easy. There would be certain expectations and comparisons, and for many, an unwillingness to commit long-term as well. However, dating can be fun even if it seems intimidating. After years as a wife and a mother, many women discover their fun selves that had been missing for a while.
Kathie Lee Gifford, 67, was married to Frank Gifford, who passed away in 2015, for almost 30 years. They had two kids, Cassidy and Cody, together, and both of them are married adults. Kathie cherishes her time with her kids, but also likes having a life of her own. One of the crucial parts of that is her zest for finding love again. The TV presenter recently revealed her relationship status to her former colleagues.
"I'm in a really special relationship with somebody that is nice and fun and healthy, and so that's good," she said on Today, adding that she was not going to say more.
Kathie Lee says she’s ‘in a really special relationship with somebody’https://t.co/zV3uUzbPOy
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 29, 2021
"Like a boyfriend, Kath?" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie asked. "You're breaking some news here."
"It's just happy, and I don't want to mess it up, and I probably already have by just even mentioning it," said the 67-year-old. "To be in a place where you feel like every aspect of your life is good, that nothing's missing, and that's a beautiful place to be. I'm just so grateful," she added.
When she appeared on the fourth hour of Today, she added some more details. "I've just found somebody that is so much fun to be with," she said. "He is challenging to me. He's the smartest person I've ever met, but he's funny."
She continued, "And we have a great time together, and so at this point in my life that's exactly what I need and exactly what I want, you know? Different seasons of life — we weren't meant to know each other before, it's right now. We don't know what the future holds at all, but we're having fun today."
In 2019, she had spoken about going on dates. "It’s surreal,” she said about her first date in more than 30 years. "You know, it’s surreal. ‘Cause the world’s changed so much, you know. But he’s a gentleman, so it was fine. It was fine. It was fun. But then I got so busy. We’re just from different worlds," she added.
Back then, she hadn't found someone she wanted to call special. "You don’t find love. Love finds you. It hasn’t found me yet. I’ve had a couple of dates, and I’ve had some fun,” she explained. “Everybody goes dancing and to music festivals and stuff like that, but no, that hasn’t happened yet. I’m not sure it ever will again. I’m not online; I’m not looking for it. I never go out and say, ‘Gee, maybe today’s the day.’ It’s not like that," added the TV personality.
In 2020, the 67-year-old had joked that she wants people who at least have real teeth. "Oh, I got some gams. That's about all I've got left," she teased about her legs. "I still have my teeth, but I'm just looking for a guy that's got real teeth. That's it," she added, according to People.
After spending as many years as she did with Gifford, it must be hard to let go. Her late husband died at the age of 84. They married in 1986 and welcomed Cody in 1990 and Cassidy in 1993. "Our almost 30-year marriage was a real love affair and a true marriage in every sense of the word, so God redeemed," she previously told People.
Even though Gifford had cheated on her, she forgave him and made it work. "If this had been chronic behavior from Frank, I would have divorced him like that,” she says. “After what I'd been through with my first marriage, then to be with a chronically unfaithful husband, no. Nothing in the Bible says we have to stay with that.”
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Cover image source: Getty Images | Photo by (L)Newsmakers (R)Gregg DeGuire
