Hoda Kotb's Relationship Status and Her Dating History

Inside Today show's host Hoda Kotb's romantic history: The NBC anchor recently called it quits with her fiancee of three years!

Best known as the long-running main host of the NBC news morning show Today, Hoda Kotb, is a broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. Thanks to Kotb's expansive credits in broadcast journalism and her regular stint on the morning show, opposite Savannah Guthrie, she is considered one of the most beloved journalists and certainly a cultural icon. "Hoda is the living, breathing demonstration that you can have it all, and you can have it on your own terms," her peer, Guthrie, once said about her.   

Kotb was born on August 9, 1964, in Oklahoma, but she spent her early years moving around a lot; Morgantown, West Virginia, Egypt, and Nigeria were just some of the few places Kotb spent her childhood and early teenage years in. Hoda kicked off her broadcast career at then-CBS affiliate WXVT in Greenville and went on to work for ABC affiliate WQAD in Moline, Illinois, before landing her breakthrough job at NBC in September 2007. Kotb recently called off her engagement with Joel Schiffman.  

What Happened Between Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman?     

NBC's viewers are well aware of the turmoil that has hit Kotb's personal life in recent times. The longtime journalist was absent from the talk show for an extended period earlier this year, sparking concerns among fans. She later cited "family health matter" as the reason behind it. The 58-year-old anchor is now back on the show. Kotb and her co-host Savannah Guthrie tackle a range of topics on their show every day, but in the last few years, Kotb's personal life has come under close scrutiny.     

The Today host was with Joel Schiffman, a New York-based financier, for a long time. Hoda and Joel started dating in 2013 before going official with their romance in 2015. The duo became a family when they adopted their first daughter, Haley, in 2017, and their second daughter, Hope, in April 2019. "I was terrified," the host says, recalling the moment she proposed the idea of adoption to Joel, who reportedly replied with immense support.  

"I chose right. I chose a man who chose my happiness over his convenience maybe at that moment," Kotb shares. The pair announced their engagement in November 2019 after Joel popped the question to Kotb during a romantic getaway. Kotb and Joel had their wedding plan sorted, with the two scheduling the nuptial for November 2020, but then, Covid happened.  

"We want to do it in a place that we love deep in our soul that means a lot to us, and we want our closest to come," the anchor said as she explained the reason behind their delayed wedding. But instead of executing their dream wedding after two years of engagement, Kotb and Schiffman decided to part ways in early 2022. The duo decided, they were better off as friends and co-parents. The former couple's separation was initially a swirling speculation after viewers noticed Kotb without her engagement ring and it was confirmed after the mother of two addressed it on the segment.   

"Joel and I have had a lot of prayerful and meaningful conversations over the holidays and we decided that we're better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple," Hoda tells her host Jenna Bush-Hager on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna. She further explains, "they say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason, or a season or for a lifetime. And I feel like ours was meant to be there for a season."  

Hoda Kotb has been Married once!  

Though Kotb and her daughters' father never made it to the altar, the Today host did walk down the aisle once before. Hoda was married to the tennis coach, Burzis Kanga, from 2005 to 2008. The Oklahoma-born journalist was yet to make her mark and was working as a local news anchor when she met Kanga on Valentine's day fundraiser event in New Orleans. The pair dated on and off for many years before getting engaged and married in 2005.   

"Married life has been great," Hoda then gushed to a local news station. She added, "if I had known it was this much fun, I would have done it a long time ago." But the pair's marital bliss ended shortly as the journalist filed for divorce in February 2007 and got their divorce finalized, ironically, on February 14 of the next year. "Valentine's Day was the day that I had met my first husband and the day that later on, just by chance, our divorce became final," Kotb said.  

Although there is not much known about Kanga, Kotb once gave an insight into her ex-husband's profession, saying, "he was the head coach for men's and women's tennis at U.N.O. and he was also the tennis pro at the Chateau Estates Country Club." But after her one failed marriage and engagement, the Today host says she is enjoying her single life and is in no rush for a relationship. "I'm really enjoying my kids and my life," the anchor said, adding, "I'm treasuring this time."  

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