What To Know
- Hoda Kotb celebrated her 62nd birthday with a family trip to the Bahamas, which included her ex-fiancé, Joel Schiffman.
- On Today With Jenna & Sheinelle, Kotb revealed the heartwarming moment that made Schiffman cry during the trip.
- Kotb and Schiffman have continued to co-parent their two daughters, Haley and Hope, in the years since their split.
Hoda Kotb‘s recent birthday trip was an emotional one for her family, including her ex-fiancé, Joel Schiffman.
Kotb returned to the fourth hour of Today on Friday, August 21, to share updates about her personal and professional life. “Just so you know what 62 feels like, it feels really good. Really, really, good,” she said, referring to her recent birthday on August 9.
Earlier this month, Kotb shared several photos from her family’s summer vacation via Instagram. On Today With Jenna & Friends, she noted that the vacation was actually a trip to the Bahamas for her birthday. In addition to Schiffman, Kotb traveled with their two daughters Haley and Hope, her mom Sameha, her sister Hala, her brother Adel, and other loved ones.
“Let me tell you the highlight of my birthday,” Kotb said to Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones. “OK, so my whole family went to the Bahamas, and my mom, who’s 90, has not gotten on a plane in many, many years, and got on one. We all went to the Bahamas, and there’s a pool there that she wanted to get into, but said she couldn’t because she didn’t feel stable. So, we said, ‘C’mon, Mom! You can do it! You can do it! You can do it!’”
Kotb said she and her friend helped her mother into the pool. “Haley was off to the side, whispering to a family member, ‘You got this, Tata! You got this!’ My mom stood in the water, in the pool,” she gushed before revealing, “Joel came, too. Joel was crying.”
Kotb and Schiffman went public with their romance in 2015 after quietly dating for two years. The former couple adopted Haley and Hope in 2017 and 2019, respectively, and got engaged in 2019.
During a January 2022 episode of Today, Kotb revealed that the pair had split over the holidays. “They say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason, for a season, or for a lifetime, and I feel like ours was meant to be there for a season,” she explained at the time.
On Friday’s episode of Jenna & Sheinelle, Kotb shared a photo of herself standing in the pool on vacation with her mom and daughters. “You know what it reminded me of? That’s what 90 looks like,” she stated. “I’m adding 30 years to my life, going, ‘I can imagine my kids when they are 37, and I am that age.’ So, anyway, it was just her teaching someone else on my birthday, which was awesome.”
Courtesy of Hoda Kotb/Instagram
Kotb left her longtime hosting role on Today in January 2025, citing wanting to spend more time with her family as one reason for her decision. “I can’t believe how much time I’ve gotten to spend with them,” she said on Friday. “I can’t believe just the time and how it matters.”
When asked what’s in store for her 62nd trip around the sun, Kotb said, “I feel like I’m going forward and I’m a student. I feel like all I’m doing is learning all over again. I’ve been talking to different coaches and teachers. I’m just trying to get better, not just at living, but at my company [Joy 101] and at how I’m navigating my life. So, I think, for me, it’s like beginning again but learning. I just like the idea of learning.”
Today With Jenna & Sheinelle, Weekdays, 10 am, NBC