Kathie Lee Gifford Is Hoda Kotb’s ‘Confidante and Matchmaker’: She ‘Could Hook Hoda Up’ With ‘Nice Men’

Kathie Lee Gifford would likely never make a return to Today, but it doesn’t stop her from offering tips and pearls of wisdom to pal Hoda Kotb.

The former Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee host, 70, and the I Really Needed This Today author, 60, go way back, having cohosted Today With Kathie Lee and Hoda from April 7, 2008, to April 5, 2019. On December 11, 2018, Kathie Lee announced she would retire from her position.

After stepping away, Kathie Lee bought a home in Nashville in 2019 to focus on her other passions, including singing, songwriting and acting.

“Hoda really looks up to Kathie Lee and thinks she’s living the dream life in Nashville, writing books and working on her music, and any advice she can glean from her is much appreciated,” a source exclusively tell Closer.

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Though Kathie Lee said goodbye to Today fans in 2019, Hoda remained with the morning news program. She is a main coanchor of the NBC show and cohost of its entertainment-focused fourth hour alongside Jenna Bush Hager.

And Kathie Lee is “impressed” with how much Hoda has to juggle. According to Closer‘s insider, Kathie Lee is “sympathetic as to how much Hoda goes through in that toxic world with the trolling on social media and intensity from bosses.”

The source adds, “Kathie Lee’s very open she’d never be able to do it, but she can help Hoda in other ways as a sort of guidance counselor, confidante and matchmaker.”

Not only do Kathie Lee and Hoda discuss business and careers, the source says they also chat about boys now that the You Are My Happy author is officially back on the market.

Hoda shocked fans when she announced her split from Joel Schiffman during a January 2022 episode of Today.

Kathie Lee “could hook Hoda up with a lot of nice men,” the source says, adding, “Nashville is teeming with them. Kathie Lee feels very strongly that she knows what’s best for her friend, and she’ll get no arguments from Hoda.”

Hoda and Joel began dating in 2013 but did not go public with their romance until 2015. She revealed in 2016 that they had moved in together. However, they ultimately began going in different directions.

On the Tuesday, August 13, episode of The Jamie Kern Lima Show, Hoda opened up about what went wrong in their relationship. “Joel is one of the best people I know, and he really is a great human being,” the broadcaster said. “And I feel like I’m a pretty great human being, but sometimes two great human beings together isn’t quite enough to make it work.”

Hoda explained that she and Joel, 66, were “growing at different paces,” and it became hard for them to “be in sync.”

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“I think a lot of people are probably in these situations,” the Hope Is a Rainbow author added. “One person’s growing … or one person wants it this way, and one person wants it that way.”

Though she and Joel are no longer together, they have a great coparenting relationship for the sake of their girls, daughters Haley and Hope, and Joel was also on hand to help Hoda celebrate her recent 60th birthday. The financier was seen in photos from the festivities standing next to Hoda and their daughters.