Hoda Kotb Shares Update on Relationship With Ex Joel Schiffman

There’s no bad blood between Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman. After eight years and two daughters together, they split in January 2022. 

During a guest appearance on Today Sept. 23, she gave an update on the current relationship between the two. Their daughters Haley and Hope are 8 and 6, respectively. 

“I went to this retreat and had kind of an epiphany about my life and I was realizing that you can love someone—like I loved him very much, and still do to this day—but that person isn’t right for you in that moment,” Kotb told Savannah Guthrie. “And you can say to yourself, ‘Wow, I’m ready to try to get other buckets of mine filled.’”

She says since time has gone by, they’ve settled into a friendship. “I was too busy sprinting. Now I can feel my life slowing down a little, like I feel more of a rhythm. I have barbecues in the backyard, and Joel comes. We invite neighbors over. We have kids running around. There’s a dog,” Kotb added.

She’s publicly praised Schiffman for being a great father to their daughters. In a social media post for Father’s Day, she wrote, “A great father’s day for a great dad!” she wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of her ex with Haley and Hope. “Happy father’s day Joel!”

She’s credited her ex with encouraging her to become a mother. “I have two incredible children I share with him,” she told People in 2022. “And it’s because of Joel that I have Haley and Hope, without question. I think I might have been too afraid to do it alone.”

Kotb has been focused on life outside of the spotlight since exiting Today. In addition to caring for her two daughters and spending quality time with them she has mentioned that she’s open to dating again and finding her soul mate.