Kathie Lee Gifford turned to faith during one of the most difficult moments of her life.
The former “Today” co-anchor has written a new book, titled “I Want to Matter: Your Life Is Too Short and Too Precious to Waste.” It explores the power of self-love and features self-reflection for the readers to better understand their hopes and dreams.
In the book, the 70-year-old looked back at her husband Frank Gifford’s extramarital affair. The Emmy Award-winning TV host told Fox News Digital that her faith in God taught her the power of forgiveness after facing a painful betrayal.
KATHIE LEE GIFFORD SAYS HOWARD STERN ASKED FOR FORGIVENESS AFTER FEUD: ‘GOD CAN TOUCH ANYBODY’S HEART’
Kathie Lee Gifford was married to Frank Gifford from 1986 until his death in 2015. (Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
“First of all, I loved Frank,” Gifford told Fox News Digital. “I was pissed 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.”
Gifford shared that “when you hurt, you pray.” And it was love, she said, that gave her the courage to forgive.
“I did it to save our marriage because I loved Frank,” she explained. “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.”
Kathie Lee Gifford’s new book, “I Want to Matter: Your Life Is Too Short and Too Precious to Waste,” is available in bookstores. (Thomas Nelson)
“I was never the same though,” Gifford admitted. “People take sex so casually, and it pretty much did me in for a long time. But I just went back to work, thanked everybody for their prayers and tried to avoid any newspapers for a long, long time.”
According to the book, Frank met a woman at the Regency Hotel on Park Avenue in New York City on May 1, 1997. Gifford wrote that for years after the affair, she avoided driving down Park Avenue to avoid being triggered by hurtful emotions. With the help of a counselor, Gifford was able to forgive her husband.
“My whole faith is built on the foundation of forgiveness: Jesus died for me for the forgiveness of my sins,” Gifford wrote. “We cannot withhold from others what He has freely given to us.”
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Frank and Kathie Lee Gifford circa 1992. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
In the book, Gifford described how she struggled to see her husband the same way after the affair, noting “he wasn’t my hero anymore.” Still, she did not have any regrets about forgiving him.
“My children’s father was a wonderful, loving, gentle, compassionate, generous, and sweet man,” she wrote. “He was easy to forgive because I knew his heart.”
“I prayed an almost impossible prayer,” she wrote. “’Lord, please give me a deeper desire for Frank than I have ever had for him, even more than at the beginning.’ This was an epic request. I was crazy in love with Frank then, and grateful to finally have the kind of exciting, thrilling, ecstatic love I’d only known about from books or movies. To my surprise, God answered my prayer and gave me a desire for Frank, unlike anything we had ever experienced. Every time we made love, it was truly healing for me.”
Frank Gifford is survived by his wife Kathie Lee Gifford and their two children, Cassidy Gifford and Cody Gifford. (Michael Stewart/WireImage/Getty Images)
“The laughter returned, and our children grew up to be the most extraordinary two human beings I’ve ever known,” Gifford continued. “By the time they learned the truth of what had happened, they knew an even deeper truth: their parents loved them and each other enough to trust in God’s healing.
Following the scandal, Kathie Lee Gifford said she and her husband were determined to stay together. (Getty Images)
“Our lives can take some unexpected twists and turns. Some come as the result of our choices; other times it’s because of someone else’s. No matter how hard things might become, it’s never too late to bring beauty from the ashes. If you find yourself in such a place as I did – in the midst of a season of great difficulty – take a deep breath, prayerfully face the truth, find a Christian counselor to help you figure out your next steps, and trust God to lead you through.”
When the news of Frank’s infidelity became public, it was their pal, Rev. Billy Graham, who called.
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Kathie Lee Gifford called Rev. Billy Graham her best friend. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
“I watched as Billy’s words of mercy and grace washed over [Frank],” Gifford wrote. “I could see his eyes well up with tears as he heard Billy’s magnificent voice tell him, ‘Remember, Frank, there is no condemnation in Christ. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.’ ‘Thank you, Billy,’ was all Frank could say… Thank you, Billy Graham. Thank you. Forever.”
Gifford told Fox News Digital that what she remembers most about Graham is “his kindness to me.” The Evangelist died in 2018 at age 99.
In her latest book, Kathie Lee Gifford wrote about the power of forgiveness. (Getty Images)
“I met him when I was in my 20s,” said Gifford. “He remained one of my best friends my whole life. He said something very, very important early on. He said, ‘Kathie, you’re going to have a big career in the entertainment industry. But I just want to let you know that I have nothing I regret in life except for getting involved a few times with politics. I would never do that again. You instantly lose half your audience. If I were you, I would keep my message the same for the rest of your life and your career. Be the same person on camera, off camera, wherever you are. Just tell people that Jesus loves them.’”
Kathie Lee Gifford said faith played an essential role in her decadeslong marriage to Frank Gifford. (Thos Robinson/Getty Images)
“That’s what I’ve done,” said Gifford. “He gave me the boldness to say it. A lot of people will whisper to me, ‘I’m a believer, too.’ I go, ‘Why are you whispering?’ A lot of people are afraid to even be open about their faith, open about their politics, open about who they are… [But] I have to be bold for Him. I have to be.”
While Gifford “never got over” Frank’s infidelity, their love endured. The beloved patriarch passed away in 2015 at age 84.
“It’s like when you have a scar,” she told Fox News Digital. “Maybe the wound’s not there anymore, but the remembrance of it is. I think marriage is a sacred, sacred relationship, and I was never the same. No, I never was.
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“Marriage is hard. Falling in love is easy. Staying in love is hard work,” Kathie Lee Gifford told Fox News Digital. (Bennett Raglin/WireImage/Getty Images)
“People come up to me a lot… They’ll say, ‘I just want you to know that because you stayed in your marriage, I stayed in mine. And we’ve been happily married ever since we got over it.’ Marriage is hard. Falling in love is easy. Staying in love is hard work.”