Hoda Kotb Reveals Daughter Haley Joy Helped Her Find Purpose: “I Can See Clearly”
Like most moms, being a parent has changed Hoda Kotb! The Today show co-host absolutely loves being a mother and she wouldn’t want to have it any other way. Hoda and her boyfriend, Joel Schiffman, parent their one-year-old daughter, Haley Joy, together and it has been an eye-opening experience.
“My whole life, my career has been riding shotgun with me. But now, with Haley, it feels like, for the first time, I can see clearly,” Hoda told Us Weekly in a recent interview. “I understand my purpose. I understand why I’m on this earth. All of a sudden, the most exciting part of the day is after work when I’m holding her. Not when I’m interviewing someone, even if it’s Beyoncé!”
Haley has completely stolen the TV anchor’s heart since Hoda adopted her back in February 2017 with Joel. Their daughter has added a lot of excitment to their relationship and Hoda told the magazine that it keeps getting better every day.
“I didn’t know how sexy it would be to watch my life partner dance with our daughter in the kitchen. It’s the best thing ever, a whole other level of love that I haven’t experienced,” she shared. And Hoda might be ready to adopt another little one very soon. Haley has brought so much joy into Hoda’s marriage that she’s seriously considering adding another baby to the brood.
“Never say never. I don’t want Haley to ever be by herself,” she said. “When you’re an older parent, you think about those things more than you would if you were in your 20s. I always say, if it’s meant to be, it’ll just happen. I’ll just put it out in the universe and see what happens.”
Hoda has big plans for Haley too! Even though the anchor knows that she can’t spend every waking minute with her daughter, she’s tries to teach Haley all the best lessons that she’s learned from her mother, Sameha Kotb.
“I want her to be strong and gentle. I want her to know who she is, to be polite and determined, but also know when it’s OK to take a rest. I struggle every day trying to figure out how to teach that,” Hoda explained. We’re sure that Haley will grow up to make Hoda the proudest mother in the world!
