Love and support. Longtime Today show co-host Al Roker told HuffPost Live on Friday, Aug. 14, that his colleague Kathie Lee Gifford is “distraught” but “strong” following her husband Frank Gifford‘s death last weekend.
“You know, we reached out [to Kathie],” Roker said in the wake of Gifford’s death at age 84 on Sunday, Aug. 9. “And she is very strong but obviously, very distraught. The thing I love about Kathie Lee is that she jokes around… at her core, she is such a woman of faith. And while this is a tragedy for her and her family, I know she knows it’s God’s will. While she’s sad, I think she rejoices in the time she had with Frank and these two beautiful children they had together.”
NFL star and sportscaster Gifford died of natural causes in his Connecticut home. During Monday’s Today show segment, Kathie Lee’s longtime pal and co-anchor Hoda Kotb shed some insight on his death.
“Kath said something to me yesterday,” Kotb shared. “She said, ‘This is not a tragedy.’ I was holding her hand, and she said, ‘A 4-year-old girl having cancer is a tragedy. Frank lived to be almost 85.’ She said, ‘He lived an incredible life, has an incredible family, had an incredible legacy.’ She said, ‘His life is a triumph.’”
Roker also paid tribute to the late athlete on Friday while appearing on HuffPost Live. “Here’s a guy I grew up watching him play football when I was a small kid, and then watching him on Monday Night Football. He’s pretty much what you see on television, this self-effacing, low-key guy is who you see in person. So vibrant!” Roker dished of the former New York Giants player. “I’d been out to Kathie Lee’s maybe about six months ago, and he comes driving up in a convertible with his sunglasses on, and it’s like, ‘Geez, it’s Frank Gifford. Frank Gifford!'”
Meanwhile, Kathie Lee has been vocal and transparent with fans about her emotional journey after her husband’s death.
Want to encourage u with this: by His power God raised the Lord from the dead and He will raise us also. 1Corinthians 6:14
— Kathie Lee Gifford (@KathieLGifford) August 11, 2015
in tears now, not from grief, but from reading all the incredibly kind and moving messages you are sending to me and my children blesse
— Kathie Lee Gifford (@KathieLGifford) August 11, 2015
Blessed!! And may God richly bless each of you in return. #grateful
— Kathie Lee Gifford (@KathieLGifford) August 11, 2015
On Thursday, Aug. 13, the NBC personality shared a verse from the Bible.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy n peace as you trust in Him that u may overflow w/hope by the power of the HolySpirit. Romans15-13
— Kathie Lee Gifford (@KathieLGifford) August 13, 2015
Kathie Lee and the Hall of Famer married in 1986, and together have two children, son Cody, 25, and daughter Cassidy, 22.
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