Hoda Kotb has opened up about her life throughout her time on Today and since then. Recently, the media personality opened up about what she is looking for in a relationship. She also shared something that doesn’t matter to her.
Hoda Kotb Opened Up About Love & Relationships With A Special Guest On Her YouTube Series
Kotb became known to many for her work with Today, especially co-hosting the program’s fourth hour. However, she announced her departure from Today in 2024, leaving on January 10, 2025, although she has appeared as a guest co-host at times since then.
In her personal life, Kotb was married to University of New Orleans tennis coach Burzis Kanga from 2005 to 2008. Following this, she started a relationship with New York financier Joel Schiffman in 2013. In 2019, it was announced that the two were engaged. However, by 2022, Kotb announced that they had ended the engagement, although they would continue to co-parent Kotb’s adopted daughters as friends.
Since then, Kotb has reentered the dating pool. During an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show back in 2024, she shared that she had gone on her first date in two years. Her former co-host, Jenna Bush Hager, even offered to set her up on a date.
During an episode of her YouTube series, “Joy Rides,” this past Thursday, Kotb opened up about what her dating life is like right now. Speaking to Michelle Buteau, she asked, “What is it like dating? Do you feel like, ‘I’m gonna show up. I’m gonna pay. I’m gonna leave, so it’s on my own terms?’ Do you like the chivalry: the show up with a flower on time, hold the door open [stuff]? Do you want someone to order for you?”
The Today Star Also Opened Up About What It Was Like Making Connections
Kotb then recalled her parents’ relationship, noting that her father, Abdel, always opened the door for her mother, Sameha. She shared, “My dad [Abdel Kotb] went around, opened the door, every single time. And so, I thought it was normal. I thought that’s what people did. It’s not.”
As Kotb admitted, it was this gentlemanly behavior and etiquette that she looks for in a partner. She continued, “If I go out on a date, and someone orders first or sits down and says to the waitress, ‘I’ll have…’ before me, or hops in his door and goes, ‘Oh,’ and then looks to where’s the unlock … I have to say, that’s my number one [thing], and I think that’s everything to me, if somebody has that.”
There is one thing that Kotb felt didn’t matter to her. As she mused, “And also, I don’t care about somebody’s money. All I care about is emotional connection.”
Kotb admitted that these connections are something she could feel out of the blue. She shared, “I was actually on a flight the other day and sat next to somebody, and literally, for the whole flight, we had this weird connection, connect moment. I don’t know what it was exactly, but I walked out of there floating. I actually don’t know what it was, but it was something that I felt I was like, ‘I need more of whatever this is in my life.’”
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John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.