Regis Philbin was struggling with quarantining and being away from friends just prior to his death, according to Kathie Lee Gifford.
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While appearing on "The Talk," Kathie Lee opened up about the final weeks of her close friend and longtime co-host of "Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee."
"He had been depressed in the weeks and months earlier, because of Covid," she said. "Regis couldn't perform anywhere, nobody was out and about, he couldn't be Regis for people, you know. And it broke his heart."
The effects of COVID-19 had hit Regis close to home, as well.
"One of his dearest friends had just recently died of Covid, so he was pretty much in a depression I think, his wife said," Kathie Lee said. "Regis just lived to make people happy. He certainly made me happy for the 35 years that we were great friends."
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The TV icon died on July 25 at the age of 88.
"Later after he passed, two weeks later, Joy told me that that was the last time she heard him laugh, was when he was at my house," Kathie Lee said, referencing Regis' wife. "So, that was a sweet gift from God to me that he blessed that friendship even at the very end. There was nobody like him ever, and there will never be another like him, ever."
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Following Regis' passing, Hollywood flooded social media with tributes. A few days after his death, Kathie Lee appeared on "Today" to honor her friend.
"I saw Reeg get out of the car with Joy and I sensed much more fragility since the last time I saw him in January in Los Angeles," she said. "We always just picked up right where it picked off. It's been 20 years since I left the show and we've been dear friends in the years since then."
She continued, "We had the best time and after they left, I thought to myself, 'Lord, is that the last time I'm going to see my friend?' Because he was failing, I could tell."