Today host Hoda Kotb and her ex-fiancé, Joel Schiffman, are on “good terms, but they are trying to move on” after their split, an insider tells Closer exclusively. 

“Initially their friends had hoped they would reconcile, but I think that was just wishful thinking on everyone’s part,” the source continues. 

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Courtesy of Hoda Kotb/Instagram

The television personality announced their breakup during a January 31 segment on Today after eight years together. While their split came as a shock to viewers, the pair ultimately realized they were better off as friends. 

“Hoda says their split was very bittersweet, she truly loved Joel, but they were just in separate places in their lives,” the insider adds. “Hoda wants to adopt another baby, she’s got the energy for that, and while Joel still loves Hailey and Hope, he just realized that they weren’t on the same path.”

The former couple are coparents to two daughters whom they welcomed via adoption, Haley Joy and Hope Catherine. Their main focus in the breakup is prioritizing their children. The source maintains there are “no official arrangements” when it comes to the custody of the girls. 

“Joel wants to be in the girls’ lives, and he still stays in touch,” the insider explains. “Hoda handles her life pretty efficiently, but if she needed something or there was an emergency involving the girls, he would be there.”

A source previously told Closer in January 2022 that the pair had different outlooks when it came to expanding their family in the future. 

“He’s a great dad, they even tried adopting a third, but some are saying that two, let alone three young children, is something Joel struggled with,” the insider revealed at the time. “Hoda loves being a mom, it’s a calling she came to late in life, but she’s happier than ever. She would adopt more kids if she could, which they didn’t always agree on.”

Becoming a mom was a dream come true for Hoda, 57, after undergoing breast cancer treatment in 2007 left her unable to conceive. During a July 2021 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, she shared that she and Joel, 64, planned to adopt a third child. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic slowed the process, as they initially “thought it would be a different game.”