In the weeks before his death earlier this year, Regis Philbin was suffering from a form of “depression” because of the coronavirus pandemic, which prevented him from doing what he loved most, his former co-host Kathie Lee Gifford said.
“He had been depressed in the weeks and months earlier, because of [COVID-19],” Gifford said during an appearance on “The Talk” on Friday. “Regis couldn’t perform anywhere, nobody was out and about. He couldn’t be Regis for people, and it broke his heart.”
The legendary TV host, who co-starred with Gifford on ABC’s daytime talk show “Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee” for 15 years, died in July of natural causes.