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How ‘Today’ Host Hoda Kotb Spent Valentine’s Day After Her Split From Fiance Joel Schiffman
On her first Valentine’s Day since her split from Joel Schiffman, Hoda Kotb got the sweetest surprise. The Today host was greeted by festive balloons after taking her daughters, Haley Joy and Hope Catherine, to the eye doctor. Her sister, Hala, set up the cute display that Hoda showed off in an Instagram video.
“We got home and it was after our normal dinner time and everyone was hungry and we walked in and my sister had sent this amazing bunch of balloons,” Hoda told cohost Jenna Bush Hager during a segment on Today on February 15. “Because what do kids want for Valentine’s Day? It was so awesome.”
Hoda announced her split from Joel on January 31 during an episode of the popular NBC program. She shared that the couple realized they are “better as friends and parents” than they are as an engaged couple. The financier popped the question to the New York Times bestselling author in 2019 after going public with their relationship in 2015. The couple adopted Haley in February 2017 and Hope in April 2019.
“It was such a beautiful, beautiful moment,” Hoda said about the Valentine’s Day surprise. “And again, this is around the time when we adopted Haley so it’s a bit — there’s so many celebrations. It’s called a Gotcha Day, where you recognize that this little girl came in your arms. We watched a video of the day I got to pick Haley up. So it’s beautiful. Love is in the air!”
Jenna, like many of Hoda’s adoring fans, found the video to be adorable. The girls jumped up and down in the clip as teddy bears sat on the sofa around them.
“I watched your video after a glass of wine or two on my way home in a taxi and I just thought to myself, ‘Love comes in many different forms,'” the former First Daughter said.
Hoda and Joel are devoted to coparenting their children as they navigate their new lives after their breakup. She had nothing but kind words to say about him after they parted ways.
“He’s a great guy. He’s a very kind and loving person, and I feel privileged to have spent eight years with him,” the Oklahoma native told viewers. “We are both good and we are both kind of going on our way and our path. We’ll be good parents to those two lovely kids.”
