Kathie Lee Gifford knows the Kardashian family well. She's godmother to Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Bruce and Kris Jenner's two daughters.
Tuesday on "Today," Kathie Lee talked about Kim Kardashian's big breakup news, recalling a prewedding party where Kim and hubbytobe Kris Humphries didn't seem all that excited about tying the knot.
"There were only maybe 50 people there and I never saw them (Kim and Kris) together the entire night," she said, adding. "That doesn't mean everybody celebrates the same way. That's the only thing I thought was unusual. … She seemed very excited about getting married."
When her cohost Hoda Kotb mentioned that there's a lot of talk about the wedding being "a sham," and that the wedding gifts and money should be returned, Kathie Lee said, "I don't want my gift back." She gave her candles. "That wasn't a pricey gift. I didn't want to give them a pricey gift because they have everything in the world." She said she made a donation to the Dream Center in Los Angeles. "The last thing in the world I'd want is that money back."
Kathie Lee also mentioned that this was Kim's second trip to the altar. When she was 19, Kim married music producer Damon Thomas in Las Vegas. Three years later, in divorce papers, she claimed he was abusive.
"I met her first husband," said Kathie Lee. "I didn't think at all that marriage was going to last. There were no shared values at all."
She went on to admonish Kim, saying that in her statement Kim said she reached the conclusion to split "after careful consideration."
Said Kathie Lee, "The time for careful consideration is before you get married. Falling in love is the easiest thing in the world. … Falling is a verb. You have no control, but staying in love takes work, takes commitment. Their ceremony was all about commitment and when the good times are over, you hang in there and something beautiful can come out when the marriage is tested in fire."
While Kathie Lee didn't say she saw the divorce coming, she did say that Kim's sister, Khloe, did. "At the reception afterward, Khloe, who always says what she thinks, walks by me … and goes, 'I give it six effing months.' "
