Kathie Lee Gifford Says No More Plastic Surgery for Her: ‘Doesn’t Want to Look Like Everyone Else’

Kathie Lee Gifford is no stranger to plastic surgery but these days she’s saying no to nip/tucks and going natural as she’s become more accepting of her age and aging at 71.

“She was doing it for years when she was on camera and there was pressure to look younger, it went with the territory and the business she was in, but that was then, and this is now,” an insider exclusively tells Closer. “So many people in the Nashville area and in New York are looking plastic-like to her and it’s not something she wants to do. She doesn’t want to go down that road and look like everyone else, like a doll.”

The source continues, “It’s a turn off and she’s more focused on the spiritual side of life and staying young at heart through her writing and music. After hip replacement surgery, she’s just glad to get around. She’s been single for months and no doubt her split from Richard Spitz had a profound effect on her. At this stage in her life, she sees no reason to conform to other people’s version of herself. She’s proud of the way she’s turned out, wrinkles and all.”

After Kathie left the Today show in 2019, she packed up and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. It was there that she met Richard, 64. However, it wasn’t until two years later that she confirmed the two were officially in a relationship.

“I have a very sweet man in my life,” Kathie said during an April 2021 appearance on Today With Hoda and Jenna. “He’s good for me, and I’m good for him. And that’s all that I’ll say about it, because there’s nothing else to talk about.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to last and the mom of two revealed earlier this year that she and Richard had gone their separate ways.

“My new mantra was going to be my joy is non-negotiable. I’ll negotiate time. I’ll negotiate money with you. But my joy, I can’t,” Kathie told People in an article published on April 25. “I was in a relationship for several years that just ended recently. And you know, it’s always hard because when you love someone, you love someone deeply. It’s something you miss when it doesn’t last.”

A few months after their split, the former Regis and Kathie Lee host underwent hip replacement surgery, calling the experience “one of the most painful situations of my entire life.” She described her hips as being “down to the nubs.”

“It was really hard,” Kathie explained in an interview with People published on July 16. “I walked, I climbed, I walked, and my doctor said, ‘Kathie, no. You have got to realize that this is serious.’ And I was off my walker in two days. I was off all my medications in three days, and then I did too much. I just did too much because that’s who I am.”

She continued, “I started carrying books around and signing and getting ready, and my grandchildren came to visit. And you can’t. I have learned from this that you only can only do so much. You’re just human. You’re just human. And I’m so grateful.”