Inside Hoda Kotb's Personal Life

Dive into Hoda Kotb's Personal life: The Today host has been married once and is a doting mother to two!  

Best known as the long-running co-anchor of the NBC News morning show, Today, Hoda Kotb is an award-winning broadcast journalist. Thanks to Hoda's long-term stint on the Fourth hour of the broadcast opposite Kathie Lee Gifford, the two women have come to become cultural icons and clear embodiments of women empowerment.  

Kotb was born on August 9, 1964, in Norman, Oklahoma, to her Egyptian parents. Kotb spent her childhood moving around places. And while the Peabody Award winner reckons and takes pride in her Muslim roots, she believes she and her family are "Americanized as apple pie."  

Inside Hoda Kotb's First Failed Marriage!  

Throughout her rollercoaster personal life, which she navigated alongside her equally challenging career in a male-dominated industry, Kotb has tried to assert herself as an open book. The award-winning journalist doesn't boast a lengthy romance history and the scanty experiences haven't been much rewarding.  

At 58, the Today Show host is a single mother to two. Kotb has been married once and was close to getting hitched for the second time. The Oklahoma-born journalist was yet to become a household face with the NBC show when she delved into marriage for the first time.  

She married former University of New Orleans tennis coach, Burzis Kanga, in 2008. During an interview, Kotb shared that she and her first husband met at a fundraiser for the American Heart Association. Kotb recalls how they didn't have the perfect relationship from the get-go and were on and off for several years.  

The couple eventually tied the knot in December 2005 in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Less than two years into their nuptial, the Today host filed for divorce from Kanga in February 2007. Burzis would later express his remorse over how things turned out for the two.  

The former coach revealed several factors that eventually took down their marriage, including Kotb's battle with breast cancer at the time, his father's ailment, and a level of immaturity on their part. "It was unfortunate we were married for a short time. It's a shame it transpired that way," Kanga said years after their divorce. 

What Happened Between Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman?  

So much has happened in Kotb's life in the last decade and the journalist has had an enduring partner, Joel Schiffman, by her side to weather the ups and downs. Not long ago, the fan-favorite host was gushing about her long-going romance with Schiffman and even dishing on their dream wedding, and life together.   

But Kotb and Joel are sadly not moving forward with their planned life. After much media speculation and fans' concerns, Kotb announced her separation from Schiffman, a financier, in January 2022. "I wanted to address something that I think a few of you maybe noticed," Kotb said on the Today Show.  

She added, "We decided that we’re better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple." The now-estranged couple started dating back in 2013. The host-turned-author kept things discreet for the first two years and sweetly unveiled the surprise in 2015. "He's a guy that gives me butterflies again at 50," a gushy Hoda said at the time. 

The NBC anchor couldn't be more proud and happy to share her journey with fans as she and Joel moved forward with their, which started with the couple moving in together, welcoming two kids, and getting engaged. Schiffman proposed to Kotb in 2019 and soon came the dreadful pandemic, prompting the couple to postpone their planned destination wedding.  

But little did Kotb and Schiffman know that the delayed wedding would eventually turn out to be no wedding at all. The pair allegedly called it quits during Christmas time and only divulged the unfortunate news in early 2022. "I feel privileged to have spent eight years with him," Hoda said as she broke the news. 

Hoda Kotb is a Mother of Two! 

Kotb once thought that having a family and becoming a mother wasn't in the cards for her. The NBC anchor was left unable to conceive after her battle with cancer in 2007. But there's always a way and Kotb found it. The Today host and her ex-partner adopted their first kid, daughter Haley, in 2017.   

Kotb has since shared her entire journey as a mother to two adopted kids. On the podcast, Me Becoming Mom podcast, Kotb reveals that both of her daughters aren't in the dark about their adoptions. "I tell them they were adopted, and I'm not sure if they 100 percent know what that means," Kotb shared.  

Kotb's oldest, Haley, arrived in the world on February 14, 2017. "I don't know what birth feels like, and I bet it was amazing," Kotb said. The broadcast journalist often shares sweet snaps of her firstborn and credited Haley for being the inspiration behind her children's book, I've Loved You Since Forever.    

Kotb and Schiffman decided they are better off as friends and co-parents than fiancés! 

Kotb also co-parents her youngest daughter, Hope, with Joel. The duo adopted Hope in April 2019 and the initial motivation was to give Haley a sibling. Kotb emotionally recounts the moment Schiffman gave his 100% approval and the two proceeded to find their second child. 

Kotb refers to Hope as a "dream child." The doting mother faced a scary time earlier this year when Hope underwent a health complication. Explaining her two weeks of absence from Today, Kotb said, "My youngest, Hope, was in the ICU, and then in the hospital for a little over a week." Hope has since recovered and is growing happily alongside her big sister.  

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