Kathie Lee Gifford has had a long and successful career. She became a household name as a presenter on The Morning Show with her now-late co-anchor Regis Philbin. She’s also been involved in other media projects and has written children’s books.
Gifford’s personal life has also caught public attention. She’s been married twice. Her second marriage to Frank Gifford lasted nearly 30 years until he passed away in 2015.
Before that, Gifford, now 68, was married to composer and Christian music publisher Paul Johnson. They got married when she was 22, but their marriage turned out to be a disaster. Gifford even cried on her wedding night.
Here’s what you need to know about Kathie Lee Gifford’s two marriages and who she is dating now.
Kathie Lee Gifford was born on August 16, 1953, in Paris, France. Her father was an American naval officer and played jazz saxophone on weekends, while her mother was a former naval secretary who became a radio singer.
Because of her father’s job, Kathie and her siblings lived in several European countries. They grew up in France until 1957, when the family moved back to the United States and settled in Bowie, Maryland.
Religion has always been a big part of Kathie Lee Gifford’s life. One of her grandparents was Jewish, and she grew up in a mostly Jewish environment. However, she attended Methodist Sunday school in Bowie. At age 12, she became a Christian after watching a film called The Restless Ones.
Kathie explained her religious journey to Christianity Today, saying, “For most of my childhood, my family honored God in a general sense but didn’t know him personally. We were culturally Jewish on my father’s side and culturally Christian on my mother’s side. But our faith—and indeed everything about our lives—began to change one night when I was 12.”
She recalled coming home one evening to find her mother and sister crying in front of the television. She initially thought something terrible had happened, like when President Kennedy was assassinated. However, she found out that her mother and sister had been watching one of Billy Graham’s televised crusades. “That night they both came to Christ,” Kathie said.
From a young age, Kathie Lee Gifford wanted to become an actress and singer. She felt that God guided her throughout her journey. At 17, she won her state Junior Miss Pageant, giving her a taste of fame.
She went to Alabama to represent Maryland in the national competition. There, she met Christian singer Anita Bryant, who was co-hosting the pageant. Anita saw Kathie’s potential and invited her to live with her and her husband in Florida. Kathie accepted and spent her time working as a singer in Southern Baptist churches, doing secretarial work for Anita, and babysitting their child.
“Anita invited me to live with her and her family in Miami,” Kathie explained. “She and her husband wanted to mentor someone, and they felt I was the one after looking for 10 years.”
However, Kathie noticed that her voice began to sound like Anita’s. “My voice started sounding like Anita’s,” she said. “Her voice is very distinctive, and I’d hear myself sing and think, ‘That sounds just like her!’”
After a year, Kathie realized that Anita and her husband’s marriage was more about their careers than a genuine relationship. She decided to leave. Before leaving, Anita helped Kathie get a full scholarship to Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she joined the World Action Singers and sang gospel music.
In 1972, Kathie Lee Gifford sang on TV for the first time on a show hosted by Oral Roberts in California. Later, she traveled around the Southern United States attending religious meetings.
But going to Oral Roberts’ school didn’t work out for her. Kathie felt like he was trying to control her and others, so she left during her third year.
Instead of going back home, Kathie set her sights on Hollywood. A year later, after doing odd jobs like being an extra and singing on a TV show called “I Believe in Miracles,” she met Paul Johnson, her future husband, who was leading a Bible study group.
In 1976, Kathie Lee and Paul got married. Kathie was still a virgin, and she joked about being “the Last Hollywood Virgin.” But at 22, she was ready to change that, and her strong attraction to Paul was a big part of it.
Kathie thought Paul was the perfect Christian partner, but on their wedding night in Mexico, she realized she was wrong.
“It was supposed to be romantic, with candles and all, but we just couldn’t relax,” Kathie wrote in People Magazine in 1992.
On their wedding night, Kathie Lee spent the whole time crying because she knew marrying Paul was a mistake. They stayed married for seven years but eventually divorced in 1983.
“It was disappointing for both of us. We all want love, and when it doesn’t happen, it’s really sad,” Kathie said. She felt especially bad because they had waited to have sex until marriage, thinking it would make their relationship special.
But their sex life was never good. “It wasn’t passionate or successful, just polite,” she said.
In 2000, Kathie Lee talked more about her marriage. She said Paul was the one who left her. “He wasn’t a good husband. It was awful,” she said. “We got married because we thought we were in love, but it didn’t work out. I’m just glad it’s over.”
She co-hosted a show called The Morning Show with Regis Philbin, which later became Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. She did this from 1985 to 2000. Then, she left to host the fourth hour of NBC’s Today show until 2018.
She said one reason she left was because her husband Frank Gifford died in 2015. This made her realize life is short.
In 2020, Kathie Lee lost another friend, Regis Philbin, who she worked with for many years. She shared her love for him on Instagram, saying they had a special friendship and she would always cherish the time they spent together.
Four years after her husband Frank died in 2015, Kathie Lee Gifford stepped away from the spotlight. Her marriage to Frank was a real love story that lasted 29 years.
Kathie met Frank while working on Good Morning America, and they fell in love. They got married in 1986 and had two kids, Cody in 1990 and Cassidy in 1993.
“Our almost 30-year marriage was full of love. It was a true marriage,” Kathie said.
In 1997, things got tough when Frank, a former football player, cheated on Kathie. She was hurt, but she chose to forgive him instead of getting a divorce.
“It was hard, but forgiving him was the right thing to do,” Kathie said. “We worked hard to move past it.”
In 2015, Frank died from a brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which happens from repeated hits to the head, often in sports. He was just weeks away from turning 85.
“Frank was a wonderful man,” Kathie Lee said. “He was kind, generous, and gentle. But sometimes the people we love the most can hurt us the most.”
Since 2018, Kathie has been living near Franklin, Tennessee. Even though she’s not on TV anymore since leaving NBC’s Today in 2020, she’s keeping busy.
She spends time with friends and still works on different projects. Kathie feels great.
