Today Show anchor Hoda Kotb shared a collection of adorable family photos on Easter Sunday, including a photo with her eldest daughter, 2-year-old Haley Joy.
In the first post, Kotb and her boyfriend, Joel Schiffman, are seen painting Easter eggs. “Happy Easter,” Kotb wrote.
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A few hours later, Kotb gave fans a cuteness overload with a photo of her four-member family. In the picture, Schiffman is seen feeding their newest addition, Hope Catherine. “This is us XO,” she wrote in the caption.
The last post showed Kotb’s mother feeding Hope. “This makes me so happy… my mom filled with Hope,” Kotb wrote, adding a heart emoji.
In between all these family photos, Kotb shared an inspirational message with her followers. “There is always hope,” the message read.
That quote has many meanings for Kotb, 54, who finally became a mother when she and Schiffman adopted Haley Joy in 2017. She is also a breast cancer survivor.
In a March interview with Entertainment Tonight, Kotb said she always dreamed of becoming a mother. Although she once thought it was too late for her, she realized it is never too late to become a mom.
“I always had this thing inside me like a voice that I couldn’t quit,” she recalled. “It was a voice that [told me I] wanted to be a mom, but I thought it was too late. You can push a voice like that away for a long time but sooner or later it comes back up, and you have to address it… So your time may be when you are in your 30s or in your 40s or your 50s, but your child is right on time.”
Last week, Kotb announced she and Schiffman adopted again when her new co-host Jenna Bush Hager interrupted the Today Show 8 a.m. hour to deliver the news.
“Do you have something you want to tell us?” Bush Hager asked Kotb, who called into the show from home.
“Hi guys! It’s a girl! It’s a girl! And her name is Hope,” an excited Kotb said. “I’m feeding her, and I can’t believe it… I’m so happy she’s here!”
Kotb later explained, “You know what’s funny? You think that you’re full. That’s exactly how I felt with Haley and Joel and everything. Joel and I were standing there when they hand you the baby, and it’s the closest thing to a live birth you’ll ever see, but in that moment I was like, ‘Oh my God, my heart just grew.’ It’s amazing. I can’t believe it’s happening.”
Kotb’s news came just a few days into Bush Hager’s tenure as Kotb’s permanent co-host for the 10 a.m. hour, following Kathie Lee Gifford’s departure. Bush Hager will now have to host the show with guest co-hosts while Kotb is on maternity leave.
“I’ll hold down the fort,” Bush Hager told Kotb on the show. “You will be missed, but enjoy every moment with that beautiful baby.”
Photo credit: Instagram/Hoda Kotb
