Heavy/ABC "Golden Bachelorette" news.
Fans of “The Golden Bachelorette” can be assured that Kathie Lee Gifford won’t be the next lead on the ABC dating show.
In an April 2024 interview, the widowed former talk show co-host addressed buzz that she would be the perfect leading lady on the next installment of the senior-centric version of the reality show.
Gifford made it clear she would not be accepting—or doling out—any roses to senior men.
Here’s what you need to know:
Kathie Lee Gifford Said She’s “Too Well-Known’ For the Show & Would Never Fall in Love So Fast
Gifford, 70, shared her thoughts in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, where she revealed that she did talk with ABC producers about a possible role on the rose-filled reality show. “It went great,” she said of her meeting. “But I said ‘Listen, I can’t do…you have a template that works great for you guys. It works beautifully.’”
“It would not [work for me],” she added. “Because I’m too well known, for one thing. And I don’t believe that in a matter of weeks [I would] fall madly in love with somebody. For me, it would never work that way,” she said.
Gifford made it clear that the reality TV format is not for her. “I said, ‘If you guys want to do a completely different kind of show, which is basically a sitcom, then I’ll make fun of myself but I’m not getting in the hot tub with anyone,” she said. “I would never [casually] date.”
The mom of two explained that she believes in keeping her “private life private.” “And that’s why I haven’t said yes to any reality show,” she said. “And I’m never going to put my children through that. You’re never the same.”
Gifford did not address the disastrous end to the very first “Golden Bachelor” star Gerry Turner’s marriage to his final pick Theresa Nist. On April 12, the couple revealed they will “dissolve” their union after just three months of marriage.
Kathie Lee Gifford’s Longtime Friend & Colleague Hoda Kotb Has Been Campaigning For Her To Be ‘The Golden Bachelorette’
Gifford, 70, lost her husband, Frank, in 2015. The retired former NFL player and sports commentator died of natural causes at the couple’s Connecticut home at age 84.
Kathie Lee Gifford reportedly dated businessman Richards Spitz starting in 2022 into 2023, according to The U.S. Sun. It is unclear what the status of their relationship is, but a source told the outlet that Gifford became upset when a pal Hoda Kotb “outed” her breakup by suggesting she star on “The Golden Bachelorette.”
In February, Kotb said on the “Today” show that Gifford would be “perfect” on “The Golden Bachelor” franchise.
“Oh, you never know! She might [do it]!” Kotb teased, per Page Six. “By the way, 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.”
The following month, Gifford appeared on the NBC morning show with Kotb and co-host Jenna Bush Hager, when the topic was brought up again. Bush Hager told Gifford that they felt she would be the greatest “Golden Bachelorette” of all time.
“Your storyline would be very good because, first of all, you’re not someone who would go sucking face with someone in a hot tub,” Kotb cracked.
Gifford playfully entertained the thought, adding, “It would have to be completely different. They’d have to make [the suitors] much younger.”
That same month, Gifford told Fox News, that producers agreed it would be a “very different” kind of “Bachelorette” series with her as the star. “I’ve 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!’” she shared. “So, I don’t see it happening.”
READ NEXT: Christie Brinkley Poses for Fearless Swimsuit Photos at Age 70