Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman have remained on good terms after their split.
The couple met and started dating in 2013. As their relationship progressed, the TV personality was often asked whether she wanted to walk down the aisle again. Kotb was previously married to Burzis Kanga from 2005 to 2008. After Kotb adopted daughter Haley in 2017, questions about her future with Schiffman continued. In January 2018, she told Ellen DeGeneres that they “might” tie the knot.
“I feel like everything’s great. He’s Haley’s dad. I’m Haley’s mom. We’re together,” Kotb, who left the Today show after nearly 30 years at NBC in January 2025, said at the time. “I feel like there’s not a rush other than we’re old, and we probably — if we’re going to do it, we might as well do it. But I think it’s fun like this. I don’t mind it. … We’re enjoying our lives. Yeah, I think we’re good this way.”
Their family grew again in April 2019 when she adopted daughter Hope. That November, he proposed. Less than three years later, however, she announced their breakup.
“Joel and I have had a lot of prayerful and really meaningful conversations over the holidays, and we decided that we’re better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple,” she told Today viewers in January 2022. “So we decided that we are going to start this new year and begin it kind of on our new path as loving parents to our adorable, delightful children, and as friends.”
Scroll through for a timeline of their relationship:
2013
The pair met in New York City after she spoke at an event.
“I asked someone from the place — I asked, ‘Will you find out his situation?’ Because I didn’t know anything about him,” Kotb told Andy Cohen in 2015. “I knew he didn’t have a wedding ring, but that’s all I knew. Then she emailed him and he emailed me and asked me out on a date.”
2015
After quietly dating for two years, Kotb and Schiffman went public. “He’s a guy that gives me butterflies again at 50,” she told People at the time.
2016
The journalist revealed that they were living together.
“It’s a little weird to be in your 50s and we’re like, ‘Hey, we’re moving in!’ It’s like we’re kids. It’s so weird,” she said on The Hoda Show in 2016. “It’s been so long since I’ve lived with someone, I’m a little concerned with me — not him. Like, how I am, as a human? You know, it’s not going to be easy for poor Joel.”
2017
Haley Joy Kotb’s arrival was announced on February 14, 2017.
2019
The Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee author adopted daughter Hope Catherine Kotb in April.
“You think that you’re full … and Joel and I were standing there when they hand you the baby and it’s the closest thing you’ll get to a live birth,” she said on Today at the time. “It’s amazing. I can’t believe it’s happening!”
2019
He popped the question in November.
2020
The twosome postponed their nuptials amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“It was a destination wedding, which would mean people getting on planes,” she said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in June 2020. “We were kind of holding out to see what could happen, but the destination we were going to is turning into one of the hot spots. So, it looks like we may have to postpone.”
June 2023
“Happy father’s day to a great dad!!” the TV host wrote via Instagram alongside a sweet photo of Schiffman laughing with their two daughters.
December 2024
The former couple reunited with their daughters to celebrate Christmas.
January 2025
One day before Kotb appeared on her final episode of Today, she and Schiffman reunited to celebrate Haley’s 8th birthday with a bowling party attended by family and friends. “Bday girl!!!! Love you Haley❤️❤️,” Kotb captioned pics from the celebration via Instagram. Haley and Hope joined her on air during her final Today episode the following day.
September 2026
Kotb and Schiffman reunited for Haley and Hope’s first day of school and posed for a photo together.
“It’s here! First day of school💥. 4th and 2nd grade! Whaaaatttt?” Kotb wrote via Instagram.
Discover more from Entertainmentnutz
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.