Kathie Lee Gifford, 70, Reveals Why She Turned Down 'The Golden Bachelorette'
Kathie Lee Gifford is determined to find love the old-fashioned way!
In a new interview, the TV star revealed she was approached with the opportunity to possibly star on The Golden Bachelorette, but she immediately turned it down.
"Here's the thing. You know what you get when you get in a hot tub? Diseases, diseases," the mother-of-two, 70, quipped of the popular reality TV show activity. "And you know what happens when you start kissing on people that you have no idea where their lips have been? It's just dumb."
"So, until you have a trust with someone … they don't give you much time before they want you in the hot tub," the Today alum said.
Gifford admitted she has "talked to the producers about it, and they said, ‘We realized it would be a different kind of show if you do it.’ I said, ‘Uhhh yeah!’ So, I don't see it happening."
Her daughter, Cassidy — who joined her for the interview — was also against the idea, though she acknowledged, "I have no control over my mother."
On the other hand, the Daytime Emmy winner believes her son, Cody, would love to see him mom on the show.
Former costar Hoda Kotb, 59, was one of the first people to toss out the idea after Gifford split from boyfriend Richard Spitz earlier this year.
Kotb gushed that Gifford "would be perfect" for the show, which features contestants aged 60 and up.
"She would be a 10 plus, and she’d get her choice of all the men, and you know how she is all flirty and cute," Kotb noted of Gifford.
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Gifford kept her romance with businessman Spitz — which reportedly began in 2021 — under the radar, but as OK! reported, sources claimed people in her inner circle weren't Spitz's biggest fans.
According to one insider, Gifford's children felt the relationship was "one-sided," explaining prior to the breakup, "They have a routine — she buys and delivers to him, lunch and dinner, they go to their favorite gym which she pays for, and he will visit at night but will never stay over."
"Her children and close friends and family are heartbroken that she continues this toxic relationship with this man who they say treats her horribly," the source continued. "Cassidy and Cody do not approve of the relationship and want her to move on with her life so she can meet someone who will love and cherish her."
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Fox News interviewed Gifford about turning down The Golden Bachelorette.