Who was Kathie Lee Gifford’s late husband, Frank?
TODAY host Kathie Lee Gifford was married to Frank Gifford for nearly 30 years before his death in 2015.
The couple welcomed two kids throughout their marriage — here’s everything we know about the late Frank Gifford.
Frank Gifford and Kathie Lee Gifford were married for nearly 30 years before his death in 2015Getty
Who was Frank Gifford?
Frank Gifford was a former NFL star and actor born on August 16, 1930, in Santa Monica, California.
He was famously known for his time playing for the New York Giants from 1952 until 1964.
With the Giants, Frank was named a six-time All-Pro. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.
Following his successful career with the Giants, Frank went on to be a play-by-play commentator for ABC’s Monday Night Football for 27 years.
As a sports personality, Frank was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards in 1974 and again in 1976.
In 1997, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the Sports Emmy Awards.
On August 9, 2015, Frank sadly passed away at 84 years old.
In November of that year, his family revealed he suffered from a degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
“While Frank passed away from natural causes this past August at the age of 84, our suspicions that he was suffering from the debilitating effects of head trauma were confirmed,” his family revealed in a statement.
“During the last years of his life, Frank dedicated himself to understanding the recent revelations concerning the connection between repetitive head trauma and its associated cognitive and behavioral symptoms — which he experienced firsthand.”
When did Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford get together?
Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford tied the knot on October 18, 1986, and were married until his death in 2015.
Speaking on Peacock’s Holiday Steals and Deals with Jill Martin on Today All Day, Kathie Lee recalled the moment she met Frank.
“I met Frank Gifford because it was 4 o’clock in the morning at Good Morning America, walking down one of the hallways, and I looked over at somebody in the dressing room,” she remembered.
“—the best set of buns I’ve ever seen in my life — just leaned over a sink putting in contact lens.
“I had just had a precursor to Lasik done on my eyes months before, and I yelled out, ‘Have I got an operation for you!”
She continued: “To which the body that the buns belonged to retired, ‘Yeah, with the fool on either end.'”
Throughout their marriage, the pair had two kids — a daughter named Cassidy and a son named Cody.
What did Kathie Lee Gifford say about Frank’s affair?
Over the years since Frank’s death, Kathie Lee has been candid about their marriage, including the time she found out Frank had an affair.
Frank Gifford and Kathie Lee tied the knot on October 18, 1986Getty
Speaking with Fox News on June 3, 2024, Kathie Lee revealed she was “furious” at first but learned to forgive him.
“First of all, I loved Frank. I was p*ssed at him, believe me. And furious that he would take something as precious as our marriage into a hotel room with somebody. It was so unlike him. And he put his whole family at risk because of it. But I also knew that we had a family that we loved,” the Today host told Fox News.
“I did it to save our marriage because I loved Frank. I was not going to break up our family. Nope…
“A man said to me once, ‘Kathie, if you can’t forgive your husband, forgive your children’s father.’ I said, ‘Well, that guy’s wonderful. That guy is a beautiful human being.’ He said, ‘Then forgive that guy.’ It worked.”
However, Kathie Lee revealed she “was never the same.”
“People take sex so casually, and it pretty much did me in for a long time,” she said.
“But I just went back to work, thanked everybody for their prayers and tried to avoid any newspapers for a long, long time.”
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