Hoda Kotb Praises Joel Schiffman in People: 'Great Dad'
Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman are co-parenting their young daughters Haley and Hope in a "healthy" way.
"He's a great dad," the TODAY co-host told People magazine for its "Family Issue," on newsstands August 19. Kotb and her daughters are the cover stars for the issue, which updates readers with the latest on her family.
Kotb and businessman Schiffman share two daughters, who they welcomed through adoption: Haley Joy, 5, who joined their family in 2017, and Hope Catherine, 3, who arrived in 2019.
The couple ended their engagement earlier this year, with Kotb explaining on TODAY with Jenna Bush Hager, "We’re better as friends and parents."
She added, “He’s a great guy, and he’s a very kind and loving person, and I feel privileged to have spent eight years with him. We are both good, and we are both going on our way and our path, and we’ll be good parents to those two lovely kids.”
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And they duet their parenting.
"He’ll have a Saturday, and I’ll do the Sunday. We switch each week," Kotb told People. "He’ll take the girls and do some fun things, and I’ll take some quiet time. It’s a healthy mix, and the kids love it."
Kotb supported her ex-fiancé in June, sharing an Instagram photo of the trio making art together. "Happy Father’s day!" she captioned the pic with a heart emoji.
The television host is also centering herself again — and she hasn't blown off romantic opportunities.
"I’ve had past loves, and I feel like I’ll have future loves,” she told People. "Once you know who you are all the way, then love can come in. You know how people say the older you get, the more you know who you are? I think someone who meets me now will meet me for real."
Being a working mom keeps Kotb fulfilled. While her alarm clock rings at 3:00 a.m. each morning, an affectionate ritual keeps her and the girls connected.
"I write them a special note… and I draw a little picture of the two of them doing something," she said on-air in February. At night, the mom and daughters throw dance parties, often to Lizzo's music.
Related: Ahoy-da! Hoda Kotb shares new pic of Haley and Hope from family boating adventure
Kotb, who started her family at age 52, doesn't take life for granted.
She said the People cover shoot was a fun day for the girls.
"They got to ride a merry-go-round, eat cookies and drink apple juice. And they got to run in a field and wear princess dresses. So it was like their favorite day," Kotb told TODAY Parents in an interview after the photoshoot. "I don’t even know if they realized there was a photoshoot happening. They just thought it was like a playdate."
She told People that being a mom delights her.
"They fell asleep on me yesterday after having meltdowns, and I sang to them, and in that moment I was just thinking to myself, ‘I get to feel these things. We get to have this together,’" Kotb said. "It blows my mind that I get to have this adorable little family that’s just right for me."
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