When it comes to potentially walking down the aisle for a second time, Hoda Kotb already has a wedding plan in place.
“Would you like to have a small wedding or a large wedding one day?” Jenna Bush Hager asked Kotb, 60, on the Wednesday, December 11, episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna. In response, Kotb stated, “When that day comes, probably a small [wedding].”
Kotb’s comments came amid a discussion about “micro weddings,” a.k.a. weddings with no more than 30 guests. “Don’t forget about me,” Bush Hager, 43, joked about Kotb’s potential future wedding guest list. “Don’t move on to your health and wellness and invite all your gurus and forget about me.”
Kotb’s thoughts on ceremony size haven’t changed much since she tied the knot with her ex-husband, Burzis Kanga, in 2005. “I did a destination wedding,” she said earlier in the conversation. “It wasn’t small, but it wasn’t huge.”
It’s over for Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman. Nearly a decade after they first crossed paths, the Today show co-anchor and the financier have ended their romantic relationship. “I met him at an event I didn’t want to go to,” Kotb recalled on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in 2015, two years after […]
Kotb and Kanga eventually called off their three-year marriage in 2008, after which she moved on with Joel Schiffman. The pair quietly dated for two years before taking their relationship public in 2015. They two went on to adopt daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, in 2017 and 2019, respectively, before getting engaged in November 2019.
In January 2022, Kotb announced on Today that she and Schiffman, 66, decided to part ways after eight years together.
“Joel and I have had a lot of prayerful and meaningful conversations over the holidays and we decided that we are better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple, so we decided we are going to start this new year on our new path as loving parents to our adorable, delightful children and as friends,” she said on air at the time. “It’s not like something happened. They say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason, for a season or for a lifetime. And I feel like ours was meant to be there for a season.”
Joel Schiffman and Hoda Kotb Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Despite calling it quits, the two have maintained a healthy coparenting relationship. “The ultimate goal is when your girls are happy. That’s what we both say, ‘Happy girls, that’s all we want.’ And that’s what we have,” Kotb exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2022. “So, they enjoy spending time with their dad and they enjoy spending time with me and everybody on my side. So it’s been really good [and] we have a nice mix.”
Earlier this year, Kotb honored her ex via Instagram in celebration of Father’s Day. “Happy father’s day to the best dad!” she captioned the sweet June 16 pic, featuring Schiffman cuddling with their kids on a couch.
Schiffman even joined Kotb and her family to celebrate her 60th birthday in August. “Thx for all of the wonderful bday wishes!!!! My party was perfect!” Kotb captioned Instagram pics of her at-home get-together, during which Schiffman sported a fun floral shirt.
Hoda Kotb isn’t letting breakups stand in the way of enjoying herself and finding love again. “Life is beautiful. Try things, go out, get out of your house and your apartment,” Kotb told Entertainment Tonight in March 2024. “I feel like life is meant to be experienced and [you should] step out into it. I […]
That same month, Kotb called Schiffman “one of the best people I know” while opening up about their split on “The Jamie Kern Lima Show” podcast. “And I feel like I’m a pretty great human being, but sometimes two great human beings together isn’t quite enough to make it work.”
Kotb will soon have more time to spend with Schiffman and their kids — she is set to exit the Today show on January 10, 2025. Kotb cited being an older mom as one of the reasons behind her decision to ultimately leave the show when she announced her departure in September. Craig Melvin will take over as Savannah Guthrie’s coanchor, while Bush Hager will continue to host the fourth hour — retitled Today With Jenna & Friends — alongside a series of guest hosts until a permanent replacement is picked.
