Kathie Lee Gifford recalls comforting a devastated Ethel Kennedy after death of son Michael - Daily Mail

Kathie Lee Gifford has opened up about consoling Ethel Kennedy at her late son Michael's bedside after he was pronounced dead following a tragic skiing accident on New Year's Eve in 1997.

The former Today co-host wrote about the heartbreaking moment in her new book It’s Never Too Late: Make the Next Act of Your Life the Best Act of Your Life, which was published on Tuesday. .

Loss: Kathie Lee Gifford wrote about consoling Ethel Kennedy after her son Michael's death in her new book, It’s Never Too Late: Make the Next Act of Your Life the Best Act of Your Life.

Kathie Lee's stepdaughter, Vicki Gifford, was married to Michael, though they had just recently separated after the shocking revelation that he had an affair with the family's teenage babysitter. .

In her book, the author recalled heading to the hospital with her late husband Frank Gifford and his oldest daughter, who was devastated by the loss.  .

Tragedy: Michael (pictured with Kathie) was pronounced dead at age 39 on New Year's Eve in 1997 after he skied into a tree while on a family vacation in Aspen, Colorado.

Awful" Kathie said Ethel had the same look of shock on her face at Michael's bedside as she did when her husband Robert F.

When they arrived at the hospital, Kathie wrote that they saw Ethel standing outside of Michael's room, still in her ski outfit, looking 'disheveled, with her jacket hanging from her waist.' .

'The look on her face was one of utter and total shock,' recalled Kathie, who said Ethel had the same look as she did right after her husband was assassinated in 1968.

Relatives: Kathie's stepdaughter, Vicki Gifford (front row, center), was married to Michael when he died, though they were separated following his affair with their teenage babysitter  .

Kathie said she prayed silently to herself before turning to Ethel and whispering a Bible verse to her: To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.'.

Before she could explain the verse, she recalled how Ethel replied: 'What did you say?' Then Frank 'signaled to me that I should leave so he could be there with her when she finally said goodbye to her cherished son for the last time.'.

Opening up: Kathie that her late husband Frank Gifford's daughter Vicki (center left) gave her permission to write about the tragic death of her husband Michael.

Love: 'She had loved Michael since she was fifteen years old, and although he had betrayed her and left her emotionally destroyed, she had never wished him harm,' Kathie wrote of Vicki.

Looking back: Kathie explained a lot of the stories in the book she retold with more details, including a passage about her unhappy marriage to her first husband Paul Johnson (far left) 

Loss: Kathie met her second husband Frank on the set of Good Morning America (pictured) and they wed in 1986

'My daughter-in-law, Frank's daughter Vicki, who had been married to Michael gave me permission,' she explained

'He was never really my husband; he was somebody I was married to,' she explained in a new interview with Parade

In 1986, a decade after she first said 'I do,' she married Frank, who was the great love of her life

Opening up: Kathie said she initially 'didn't want to' write about Frank's infidelity in her book but later changed her mind because she wanted people to know how they saved their marriage

Or you remember certain things and you kind of go, "Ahh, I've never told that story,"' she said, noting that the famous people who appear in the book are truly her friends.