‘I was never the same’: Kathie Lee Gifford admits late husband Frank Gifford’s affair ‘pissed’ her as she reveals why she forgave him

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Former 'Today' co-anchor Kathie Lee Gifford recently opened up about her "fury" over her late husband Frank Gifford's wild 1997 romance with a gorgeous former flight attendant.

Kathie Lee, 70, also explained why—after learning that Frank cheated on her—she finally decided to remain with him although she was "never the same".

Kathie Lee Gifford addresses late husband Frank Gifford's adultery

Rumors surfaced in 1997 claiming that former football star Frank had cheated on Kathie with a stunning former flight attendant called Suzen Johnson.

During a conversation with Fox News, the 70-year-old TV host has now opened out about how learning about her husband's shocking infidelity through the media made her feel "pissed".

She also explained that she didn't want to "break up their family," which is why she chose to "forgive" him despite his betrayal.

"First of all, I loved Frank," Kathie told the outlet. "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. I did it to save our marriage because I loved Frank. I was not going to break up our family," Kathie said.

Kathie and Frank, who was 23 years older than her, married in 1986, and they shared two children, son Cody, and daughter Cassidy.

Newspaper stories about Frank's extramarital affair began to surface while the couple's children were just four and seven years old, per Daily Mail.

The TV celebrity added that although she was "furious," a friend advised her to "forgive" Frank in order to protect their children.

"A man said to me once, ‘Kathie, if you can’t forgive your husband, forgive your children’s father,’" Kathie recalled.

She said, "I said, ‘Well, that guy’s wonderful. That guy is a beautiful human being.’ He said, ‘Then forgive that guy.’ It worked."

Kathie further admitted, "I was never the same though... But I just went back to work, thanked everybody for their prayers and tried to avoid any newspapers for a long, long time."

She remarked, "It’s like when you have a scar. 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."

Kathie Lee Gifford resorted to faith following husband's infidelity

The former 'Today' co-anchor has penned the book, 'I Want to Matter: Your Life Is Too Short and Too Precious to Waste.' It includes self-reflection and an exploration of the power of self-love to help readers better understand their goals and objectives.

Kathie reflected on her husband Frank's extramarital affair in the book. The Emmy Award-winning TV anchor told Fox News Digital that after experiencing a terrible betrayal, her faith in God taught her the importance of forgiveness.

"When you hurt, you pray," remarked Kathie. She added that love was what gave her the strength to forgive her late husband.

"My whole faith is built on the foundation of forgiveness: Jesus died for me for the forgiveness of my sins," Kathie wrote in her book. "We cannot withhold from others what He has freely given to us."

According to the book 'I Want to Matter', Frank met this woman on May 1, 1997, at the Regency Hotel on Park Avenue in New York City.

Years after the incident, Kathie wrote, she drove down Park Avenue rarely so as not to provoke painful memories. She was able to forgive Frank with the assistance of a counselor.

In the book, Kathie talked about how, following the affair, she found it difficult to see her husband in the same light, saying, "He wasn’t my hero anymore." However, she felt no remorse for forgiving him.

She wrote: "My children’s father was a wonderful, loving, gentle, compassionate, generous, and sweet man. He was easy to forgive because I knew his heart."

"I prayed an almost impossible prayer... 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," Kathie wrote.

Frank, a former NFL player and sportscaster, died in 2015 of natural causes at the age of 84.