How Morning Cocktails Became a Daily TV Routine for Kathie Lee & Hoda

Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb enjoy working with each other every morning on the “Today" show as much as they love their wine... and now the dynamic drinking duo is gracing the cover of Bella New York's November/December 2016 cover.

Each morning you can find the bubbly co-hosts sipping their wine and gabbing about the latest headlines, but alcohol wasn't always involved.

Kathie Lee explains, “That was not our fault, that was Chelsea Handler (laughs). She had a new book out, “Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea,” and so our producer thought it would be funny to have a whole bunch of different vodka cocktails for her. The segment came and went and we thought that was it.”

That's what the two thought until, "Brooke Shields showed up and said, 'Where's my drink?' And then Joel McHale showed up with his own bottle of Hennessy. From there the producers started putting the wine out in front as our shtick. We thought for sure someone would take it away, but nobody did!"

The 10 o'clock ladies have much admiration for each other. Kathie Lee isn't new to the morning show circuit, having done “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee,” but she knows she and Hoda have a special relationship. "I never dreamed I could find somebody else in this world I would love being with the way I loved being with Regis.”

Some of their favorite guests to interview are the ones who make the two laugh. Hoda shares, "There's something about guests that literally have you doubled over."