Today’s Hoda Kotb Reveals People Assume She’s Her 2 Daughters’ Grandmother

Today’s Hoda Kotb revealed that many people have assumed that she’s her daughters’ grandmother due to her age.

During the Tuesday, December 17, episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, Hoda, 60, responded to a fan who wrote in to ask about the proper etiquette of correcting people who mistake mothers for grandmothers. “Yes, you should. Yes, you should. That’s happened to me before,” she said.

“Somebody called you grandma?” cohost Jenna Bush Hager asked, and Hoda responded, “Yeah. Someone said, ‘Oh, are you their grandma?’ I said, ‘No, I’m their mom.’”

While Hoda said she doesn’t get bothered by the mistake, she admitted she understands why others may be frustrated with the assumption. “I can get where if it happened nonstop all the time, I think it would probably get annoying,” Hoda – who shares daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman – said.

Hoda then explained that she corrects people who assume she’s Haley and Hope’s grandmother because she wants her daughters to “see and think” of her as their mom.

“So, I think for your kids’ sake, you should say, ‘Oh, no actually…’ but also don’t take offense, because, as I tell my kids, some moms are older, some moms are younger, some are taller, some are shorter,” the host continued.

Jenna, 43, wrapped up the topic by joking that “some moms are tired,” and others just “want to crawl into the pantry and eat a string cheese.”

Hoda previously shared her answer on how to address strangers that make incorrect assumptions about others in a Real Simple column published on Monday, December 16. “I think you correct them. Calmly,” she said. “Because I’ve learned that your daughter won’t be reacting to what the person said—she’ll be reacting to how you’re reacting.”

“I often say to Haley and Hope that some moms are tall, some moms are short, some moms are old, some moms are young—because they’re all different,” Hoda continued. “You try to lay it all out.”

Hoda clearly loves being a mother, and she recently shared a sweet photo with Hope via social media. “Great day with my little girl!” she captioned the selfie on December 12, which showed Hope leaning on her shoulder while sitting in a theater.

Shortly after Hoda uploaded the photo from the outing, several fans took to the comments section to gush about her relationship with her daughters. “So blessed you are! So blessed your daughters are to have found each other. Wishing you 3 Musketeers are the very best life has to offer y’all!” one person wrote, and another chimed in, “[This is] what life is all about!!!! So happy for you all.”

Meanwhile, others said that they hope Hoda gets to spend more time with her daughters following her departure from Today in January. “How lovely!! Many more wonderful moments to come!! You will be missed!” an additional fan commented, and a fourth shared, “Understand the value of these moments, but I am so going to miss you in my mornings.”