KATHIE LEE GIFFORD
THE VETERAN HOST CONGRATULATES HER FRIEND — AND REVEALS PLANS FOR HER OWN FUTURE
The veteran TV host celebrates Hoda Kotb’s Today promotion, while also opening up about her own exciting plans for the future.
Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb wiped away happy tears as they hosted the fourth hour of Today on Jan. 2. Just three hours earlier, Savannah Guthrie had announced that Hoda would take Matt Lauer’s former seat as the permanent co-anchor of the network’s morning show. “We are all so proud,” Kathie Lee gushed, before being reassured by Hoda, “you and me are together forever — you’re stuck with me!”
Hoda’s promotion comes after Matt’s firing for sexual misconduct. “Our sense of joy is tempered by our sense of loss,” admits Kathie Lee, 64. But if she was worried she’d lose Hoda, 53, as co-host, she didn’t show it. “Kathie Lee thought NBC would give [Matt’s job] to a new face, someone younger, probably a guy,” a source tells Closer. “When she heard the news, she was visibly happy. But she is fearful their show will eventually change.”
Some changes have been initiated already by Kathie Lee, who’d told NBC last January that she planned to leave Today after 2017 to work on films. She spent the holidays in Florida “writing the new movie,” she says. And she told Hoda on Jan. 2, “I’m not going to be with you much this month,” while she works on other projects. “They revolve around her Christian faith and her specific story,” says the source.
“You get to a point of your life where you run out of time to do what you want to do,” Kathie Lee explains. But since NBC accommodated her schedule, she’s decided to stay at Today, and Hoda will continue to be her co-host. “There’s no better place in a 50-year career,” Kathie Lee insists. And Hoda’s dream job only increases Kathie Lee’s affection for her friend. “She is having the greatest year of her life,” Kathie Lee says. “If she’s happy, I’m happy for her!” — Lisa Chambers
“Hoda knows what is truly important” — Kathie Lee