Kathie Lee Gifford, 71, Admits She's Had a 'Really Tough' Last 3 Years Due to Health Issues

Kathie Lee Gifford knows getting older is not always easy, especially after some of the health woes she's endured over the years.

"I've had a really, really tough last three years with parts of my body that have just worn out because I did so much in my life," the 71-year-old exclusively told OK! at QVC’s TikTok Super Brand Day in Santa Monica, Calif., on May 14. "I had my hip replaced, I had my shoulder done — that was from an old injury that. finally got so bad. I couldn't ignore it anymore. Yet my health is perfect! I am crumbling!"

Fortunately, Gifford, who left the Today show in 2019, is thriving now that she has time to be with her family and complete projects. "I've got two new babies coming. My son Cody Gifford is expecting his third, and Cassidy [Gifford] is expecting her second [she gave birth in mid-May]. Any minute she's due! I have to balance the time I have with them because Cody and his wife live in Connecticut, while my daughter lives near me in Tennessee, but I rarely see them. They have their own lives. I'm not a helicopter mother at home! I've taught them to be independent," she noted.

The mom-of-two has been booked and busy ever since she left the world of TV behind. "It's called rehired, not retired! When I left the show with Regis [Philbin], I got rehired and went and did a Broadway show, which was Tony nominated. Then I got rehired when I left Hoda Kotb and did a movie that was the No. 1 movie in the country for a while. I've always had lots of dreams inside of me, and when you're doing a daytime talk show for as long as I did, you can't do things you've been aching to do. I wanted to direct, so I started directing movies. I wanted to spend more time studying in Israel, and then I wrote books about Israel."

"Everyone asks me, 'Do you miss it? How could you leave your two dream jobs?' I said, 'You're just assuming they were my dream jobs.' They were great jobs, and I was so grateful to have them, and I was able to build a life with my husband and kids, but in the end, it became more about my creative dreams. I wanted to pursue films and Broadway, which has kept me busy. I don't miss it!" she continued.

At the QVC event, the TV star and Kotb, who previously co-hosted Kathie Lee & Hoda, got to reunite. "We're very, very close and always will be," Kathie Lee said of her bond with Hoda, 60. "I was very, very close with Regis. We got closer through the years."

When Hoda announced she would be leaving the Today show in 2024, Kathie Lee couldn't have been more supportive of her pal's decision. "I said, 'Hoda, you'll know when it's time, and it won't be anybody else's time. People are going to be angry and they will offer you more money, and that's the way it goes.' She's such a soulful person and spiritual, and she's an unbelievable mother — all of that changes you. Sometimes you want something different in life. She was getting up at three in the morning and leaving her little girls asleep in their bedrooms."

Not only was Kathie Lee thrilled to reunite with Hoda, but she also got to see other industry titans at the star-studded event. "This is fun! I have known most of these ladies through the years because Hoda and I have interviewed them. We spoke to Billie Jean King and Jennie Garth. We were the place to go. This is our second year here with QVC, and it's growing. There's way too many gorgeous women out here!"

"I was on QVC years ago for the first time, and I think I talked about a beauty product — that's how long ago it was! I got on and we sold $5 million worth in five minutes. I was blown away at how brilliantly it's run. The technology now is even better, so you immediately see how much you are selling," she added of QVC's evolution.