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Kathie Lee Gifford is opening up about one of the most enduring friendships of her life.
During a recent interview with Fox News Digital, the 72-year-old TV personality discussed her upcoming thriller, “Nero and Paul,” her thoughts on filming a reality show and her long-lasting friendship with reality TV star Kris Jenner.
“She has been my friend for 50 years,” Gifford said of Jenner. “I was 22, and she was 20 when we met. Nobody knew who I was, nobody knew who Kris was, and we just fell crazy in love with each other. I’ve had so much fun.”
She explained that eventually her life took her to New York City while Jenner built a life in Los Angeles with her first husband, Robert Kardashian.
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Gifford said she and Jenner have been friends since they were in their 20s. (Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Gifford joked that “we all know what happened” in Jenner’s life, adding that she was the one who arranged for Jenner and her family to appear on “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” the show that propelled the whole family to superstardom.
“It’s been nothing but success, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, ever since,” she said. “But I haven’t changed, and down deep, Kris hasn’t either.”
WATCH: KATHIE LEE GIFFORD SHARED DETAILS ABOUT HER DECADES-LONG FRIENDSHIP WITH KRIS JENNER
While Gifford was the one who suggested Jenner and her family get their own reality show, she says it has never been something she has had any interest in.
“I’m not acting out this life of mine. I’m living it,” she said. “That’s why I said no to a reality series every time it was offered to me. I said, ‘No, I’m in show business and I chose that as a child. My children didn’t. I’m going to go home to my children and my husband every day and have a life that’s private as much as possible. Keep my children out of it.'”
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Gifford said she would never agree to be on a reality show, even though she was asked many times. (Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images for Lionsgate)
She went on to explain that the Kris Jenner fans see on the show is a persona, saying, “Kris is acting on her show,” adding that that’s just the nature of reality TV, where “they have a producer who says, ‘This is what’s going to happen today, make it real, make it fun.'”
She said the same goes for all members of the family, with Gifford claiming they are all “acting out their personas” and have “learned” to do it over the years.
WATCH: KATHIE LEE GIFFORD SHARES WHY SHE NEVER AGREED TO APPEAR ON A REALITY SHOW
Jenner recently celebrated her 70th birthday with a huge party, which Gifford attended, even though she usually chooses to “turn down most big events” because “they’re loud and noisy and you never get a chance to even talk to anybody.”
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Prior to going to the party, she told Jenner, “I didn’t come to go to the party. I came to love on you and just remind us of all we’ve been through and God’s faithfulness in our lives.”
While at the party, Gifford said she found a table in the corner and “avoided pictures with her pretty much all night,” because “it was her night.”
Gifford and Jenner spent hours before Jenner’s birthday party reminiscing about their friendship. (Mike Pont/WireImage)
Gifford described arriving in Los Angeles prior to the birthday party to give Jenner her gift, adding the two of them spent hours “sipping Perrier and lime and just talking and crying and laughing” about all they had been through together.
“She’s got 13 grandchildren now,” she said. “I’ve got five and, you know she’s in a happy relationship, and I’m a widow. And yet we’re the same people that we were when we met all those years ago. Just we have a lot more to show for it, that’s for sure. But basically, we’re the same people. And we’re grateful. We’re grateful people.”
Gifford also spoke to Fox News Digital about her new book, “Nero and Paul,” which combines historical accuracy with a fictional narrative to tell the story of Roman Emperor Nero and Apostle Paul. In the early days of Christianity, Emperor Nero persecuted Christians, arresting and torturing them before their execution. Paul was a former persecutor of Christians who became a missionary and was later beheaded in Rome.
WATCH: KATHIE LEE GIFFORD SHARES DETAILS ABOUT HER NEW BOOK, ‘NERO AND PAUL’
She explained the book is written as a thriller, which will tell “the true stories of these people’s lives,” saying they “accomplished amazing things” in addition to having “sex with everyone and everything” and murdering “everybody that got in their way.” She contrasts this story with Paul, who “was literally martyred for his faith,” saying she hopes to get across the message that while there has always been evil around, “the Lord God [is] still present in every nanosecond of our lives.”
Gifford’s new book is called “Nero and Paul.” (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
“So we’re hoping to make these into a docuseries because they’re just so exciting,” she said. “It’s like a thriller. So I’m trying to tell people, and they’re listening to me, and they’re enjoying it so much more. Instead of reading it, which it’s thick. There’s a lot of history here, a lot of stuff. Just listen to me when you’re in the car, or you’re winding down or something, and let me tell the story. Let me do the hard work. And you’ll get wrapped up in this thing, and you will go, ‘Are you frickin’ kidding me?’ You know, it’s that good.”
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