In an industry known for its long memories and even longer grudges, Kathie Lee Gifford has written a new chapter in the book of celebrity feuds—this one ending not with fireworks, but forgiveness.

In her newly released memoir, I Want to Matter: Your Life Is Too Short and Too Precious to Waste, Gifford, 70, recounts the unexpected end to one of the more public feuds of the ’90s: her long-standing rift with radio personality Howard Stern.

What began with boos at a Super Bowl in 1995 ended with a voicemail that left Gifford stunned—and a heartfelt phone call that revealed the quiet power of grace.

It Started with Boos and a Radio Rant

Gifford first became aware of Stern’s ire in 1995, when she was chosen to sing the National Anthem at Super Bowl XXIX. As she stepped up to the mic in front of tens of thousands in the stadium and millions more watching at home, she heard unexpected boos ripple through the crowd.

Later, she learned the source: Howard Stern had publicly urged his listeners to jeer her as she took the field.

“I remember standing there, trying to focus, and just hearing this noise,” Gifford writes in her memoir. “At first, I thought, ‘Surely, they’re not booing me.’ But they were. And it was devastating.”

Stern, at the time the undisputed king of shock radio, had made Gifford a frequent target, mocking her cheery persona, her Christian faith, and even her marriage to NFL legend Frank Gifford. For years, the attacks continued. Gifford, for her part, largely remained silent.

Until 2011.

A Surprise Meeting—and a Hello Against All Advice

In 2011, fate (and NBC scheduling) put the two under the same roof. Stern had been booked on the Today show to promote his new gig as a judge on America’s Got Talent. Gifford, then co-hosting the show’s fourth hour, was warned to keep her distance.

“They told the makeup artists, hairstylists—‘Keep her away from him,’” Gifford recalled in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. “But I had a different voice in my head.”

That voice, she says, was God.

“God told me to say hello.”

So she did. In a moment that surprised even herself, she approached Stern in the hall and offered a kind word.

“‘Hey, it’s Kathie Lee,’ I said. ‘I just wanted to wish you well with your new show.’”

She returned to her dressing room, where stunned staff asked her why she had done it.

“Because God told me to,” she answered.

A Voicemail That Changed Everything

Shortly after, as she boarded a flight, Gifford noticed a missed call from a blocked number. She played the voicemail—and froze.

It was Howard Stern.

“He was saying, ‘I can’t believe how nice you were to me. I’ve been so rude to you, and you were so nice. I just need to apologize. Please call me,’” Gifford said.

Her family—husband Frank and son Cody—were not keen on the idea. Stern had, after all, spent years saying cruel things about them both.

But Gifford felt differently.

“I just want you to know,” she told Stern when they spoke, “I forgave you 30 years ago.”

Stern was stunned.

“What?” he replied.

“I forgave you 30 years ago,” Gifford repeated, “and I’ve been praying for you every day since. And it’s the truth.”

Faith, Forgiveness, and a Dinner Invitation

After the phone call, the two spoke occasionally. Gifford even invited Stern to dinner at her home.

“He’s an odd duck,” she writes in the memoir, “but aren’t we all?”

According to Gifford, Stern once told her she “pissed him off” because she was “everything he wasn’t”—a comment she took not as an insult, but a moment of reflection.

“I can find something good in anybody,” Gifford said. “That’s what my faith teaches me.”

A Bigger Message: Forgiveness, Not Bitterness

Forgiveness is a running theme throughout Gifford’s new memoir. She reflects not only on her career but on the deeply personal experiences that tested her resolve—including the infidelity of her late husband, Frank Gifford, whose extramarital affair with flight attendant Suzen Johnson made headlines in the late 1990s.

“I could have let that seed germinate,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “But I don’t want to be that person—bitter, angry, miserable.”

She credits her Christian faith with guiding her response—not only to Frank’s betrayal but to Stern’s as well.

“You hurt people, you ask for forgiveness. It’s simple. But it’s not easy.”

A Feud That Reflects a Larger Cultural Shift

The Gifford-Stern saga is emblematic of how public feuds once played out in the pre-social media era. There were no apology videos, no Twitter wars. There was real-life animosity—and, in this case, real-life reconciliation.

Their story feels like a relic of a different time, but also a reminder of what’s possible when egos are set aside and humanity takes the front seat.

“We need more stories like this,” one fan commented after reading Gifford’s account. “So much anger in the world. It’s good to be reminded that people can change.”

Two Legacies, One Lesson

Today, Gifford continues to write, speak, and spend time with her family. Stern remains a media force—older, perhaps wiser, and notably more reflective in recent years.

Their paths are unlikely to cross often. But the brief intersection they shared—first in conflict, then in grace—is a testament to something larger than media careers or public personas.

It’s a testament to faith. To growth. And to the radical idea that people can, in fact, change.

Conclusion: Not a Headline, But a Healing

In a media environment often saturated with outrage, the reconciliation between Kathie Lee Gifford and Howard Stern offers a rare breath of humility. It didn’t need to happen. But it did—because one woman chose to follow a whisper over a grudge.

“I forgave you 30 years ago,” she said.

And with that, a feud ended—not with spectacle, but with sincerity.