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Kathie Lee Gifford's scary health update: TV star and singer says she ‘wanted to die’
Kathie Lee Gifford revealed she experienced excruciating pain that led her to wish for death.
Kathie Lee Gifford has candidly discussed experiencing pain so intense that it made her wish for death.
The 72-year-old television personality, singer, and actress shared with PEOPLE, a publication affiliated with Entertainment Weekly, that she has faced significant pain, multiple broken bones, and surgical procedures over the past year — including a complete hip replacement and cataract surgery.
Gifford mentioned that this pain caused her to withdraw from public engagements throughout the year, a situation that reminded her of her late husband, Frank Gifford, during the final stages of his life before he passed away at the age of 84 in 2015.
'I wasn't going to kill myself,' Kathie Lee Gifford makes bombshell admission
Speaking to PEOPLE, she mentioned, “Frank said to me before he passed, ‘When I go somewhere, I know what people are expecting from me. I want to be Frank Gifford when I go out'."
"I want to be Kathie Lee, the person they expect. I don't want to disappoint people. But when you're in pain, it's so debilitating, and everything's a grimace. I've had emotional pain many times in my life, but never this chronic physical pain where you literally want to go home to Jesus."
She disclosed that she recited the prayer and even prayed to die several times due to the unbearable pain.
“I wasn't going to hurt myself. I wasn't going to kill myself. I just didn't want to be here — as blessed as I am,” she confessed.
Kathie Lee Gifford's surgeries
In addition to undergoing hip surgery and a cataract operation, Gifford's fractured bones resulted in additional complications and physical restrictions, which adversely affected her capacity to engage in play with her five grandchildren.
Reflecting on the potential causes of her physical complications, Gifford mentioned that her vigorous performances on stage as Miss Hannigan in a 2006 production of Annie at Madison Square Garden in New York City may have contributed to her condition.
Aside from her health concerns, Gifford, a prominent Christian figure, recently garnered attention for addressing two unexpected subjects — notably criticizing the current cohosts of The View and commenting on the LGBTQ community's use of identifying letters during an interview with conservative commentator Tomi Lahren.
