{"id":249329,"date":"2026-06-30T16:43:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T16:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/30\/kathie-lee-gifford-wanted-to-die-before-surgeries\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T16:43:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T16:43:35","slug":"kathie-lee-gifford-wanted-to-die-before-surgeries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/30\/kathie-lee-gifford-wanted-to-die-before-surgeries\/","title":{"rendered":"Kathie Lee Gifford &#8216;Wanted to Die&#8217; Before Surgeries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Author, journalist, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehollywoodgossip.com\/2018\/12\/kathie-lee-gifford-stuns-viewers-confirms-depature-from-the-toda\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">former <em>Today Show<\/em> co-anchor<\/a> Kathie Lee Gifford has something to share.<\/p>\n<p>She was, until very recently, in deep physical agony.<\/p>\n<p>Her chronic pain interfered with meeting fans. Worse, it made it hard for her to play with her grandchildren.<\/p>\n<p>It reached a point where she wanted to die.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><noscript><\/noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0630_kathieleegifford_01-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"Kathie Lee Gifford in June 2025.\" class=\"wp-image-558097 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0630_kathieleegifford_01-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0630_kathieleegifford_01-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0630_kathieleegifford_01-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0630_kathieleegifford_01-2048x1362.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0630_kathieleegifford_01-960x639.jpg 960w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0630_kathieleegifford_01-1080x718.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0630_kathieleegifford_01-1200x798.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0630_kathieleegifford_01-scaled.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kathie Lee Gifford speaks on stage on June 3, 2025.<span class=\"image-caption-credit\"> (Photo Credit: Valerie Terranova\/Getty Images for City of Hope)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-i-ve-never-abused-my-body-i-just-used-it\">\u2018I\u2019ve never abused [my body], I just used it\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Just over a year ago, Gifford underwent a hip replacement surgery.<\/p>\n<p>Followed by that, she went under the knife again.<\/p>\n<p>Gifford broke her arm just by rolling over onto it at an extremely odd angle, she says.<\/p>\n<p>Another broken bone came from a fall on uneven pavement \u2014 which can lead to catastrophic injuries even to someone who is not in her 70s.<\/p>\n<p>When Gifford realized how far her depth perception had fallen, she underwent cataract surgery.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DaNfhGYuK_N\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"\/>\n<p>\u201cYou have to have a sense of humor about everything,\u201d Gifford told <em><a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/kathie-lee-gifford-reveals-debilitating-pain-led-to-hip-arm-and-cataract-surgeries-exclusive-12008874\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">People<\/a><\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>She expressed: \u201cThank God I\u2019ve never lost that, even in my bleakest moments. I\u2019m a tough broad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even so, she is the first to admit that she\u2019s put wear and tear on her body over the years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never abused [my body], I just used it,\u201d Gifford explained.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, she\u2019s saying that she\u2019s been so active that it\u2019s taken a toll. That\u2019s one of the grim truths of bodies and age \u2014 you need to be just the right amount of active.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Exclusive: Kathie Lee Gifford Graces the Cover of People\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hx90ULE4QQc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-i-wanted-to-die-a-few-times\">\u2018I wanted to die a few times\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI want to be Kathie Lee, the person they expect,\u201d she explained. \u201cI don\u2019t want to disappoint people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This goes for meeting fans on the street as well as for spending time with her grandchildren.<\/p>\n<p>Gifford added: \u201cBut when you\u2019re in pain, it\u2019s so debilitating, and everything\u2019s a grimace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She detailed: \u201cI\u2019ve had emotional pain many times in my life, but never this chronic physical pain where you literally want to go home to Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to die a few times,\u201d Gifford admitted. \u201cI wasn\u2019t going to hurt myself. I wasn\u2019t going to kill myself. I just didn\u2019t want to be here \u2014 as blessed as I am.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-theme=\"dark\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">kathie lee and hoda&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/joyride?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">#joyride<\/a> (second extended cut) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EpvgcxFiE3\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/EpvgcxFiE3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 caleb (@calebstark) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/calebstark\/status\/1815372439787897235?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">July 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>After a series of surgeries, Gifford is doing six-days-a-week physical therapy and stem cell therapy.<\/p>\n<p>She reports that she is now running \u201call over the place\u201d with her grandchildren.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re all fantastic,\u201d she gushed to People. <\/p>\n<p>She added: \u201cI\u2019m hoping, Lord willing, that I have many, many years with them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We of course wish her the very best.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehollywoodgossip.com\/2026\/06\/kathie-lee-gifford-debilitating-pain-surgery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reading Time: 2 minutes Author, journalist, and former Today Show co-anchor Kathie Lee Gifford has something to share. She was, until very recently, in deep physical agony. Her chronic pain interfered with meeting fans. Worse, it made it hard for her to play with her grandchildren. It reached a point where she wanted to die. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":249331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-249329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hollywood"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}