The former daytime diva, now 70, revealed she received an unexpected phone call from the shock jock, also 70, who expressed regret for their long-standing feud.

She began by noting, “It was a surprise to get a voicemail from Howard Stern,” highlighting the power of forgiveness. “After listening to it, I told my children, ‘Well, pigs have now officially flown.’ I’ve always believed in God’s ability to move hearts. When someone hates me, I am not permitted to dislike that person. If you begin to pray for others, you can’t despise them. Love and hatred cannot coexist, and this is a very straightforward concept.

The public conflict between the A-list celebrities began in 1995 when Stern encouraged his audience to jeer at Gifford as she performed the national anthem at Super Bowl XXIX. Gifford recounted in her book, “I Want to Matter: Your Life Is Too Short and Too Precious to Waste,” that she had a “completely surreal” experience being heckled while singing the patriotic song.

Years later, Gifford approached Stern during one of his appearances on the NBC morning series to promote a new project. “The Lord… said, ‘Kathie, go down and say hello to him, and wish him well with the show,’” Gifford recalled.

Despite being warned by others not to go near the studio, she did so anyway. “I couldn’t care less. I make my way downstairs. Their question is, ‘Where are you going?’ I said, ‘I’m going to say hello to Howard.’”

She continued, “He is extremely tall, and I was in my little flats coming in from Connecticut. He has quite the entourage, which is why there were so many people there that day. I said, ‘Hey, it’s Kathie Lee. I wish you the best of luck with the new program.’ Then I walked back to the makeup area. They asked, ‘Why would you do that?’ I responded, ‘God told me to.’”

Shortly after the encounter, Gifford noticed she had missed a call from an unknown number, which turned out to be Stern. “He left a voicemail, and he said…I can’t even use the language he used,” Gifford recounted. “I can’t believe how nice you were to me. You’ve been so kind to me, and I’ve been so rude to you. I need to apologize. Please call me back.”

When Gifford returned the call, she had a message for him. “I said, ‘I’m really happy for you that you’re asking for forgiveness because anytime we hurt somebody, it’s important to ask for forgiveness,’” she said. “But I want you to know that I forgave you thirty years ago. He asked, ‘What?’ I said, ‘I forgave you thirty years ago, and I’ve been praying for you every single day since.’ It’s the truth. Then he exclaimed, ‘Oh my God.’ I then asked, ‘Would you like to come to dinner sometime?’ He responded, ‘You would have me at your house?’ I said, ‘Of course.’”