Hoda Kotb is looking for love. The 62-year-old former Today Show host opened up about her dating life during a recent appearance on Today with Jenna and Sheinelle.
On Friday, August 21, Hoda sat down with Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones to discuss her new company, Joy 101, and revealed a surprising update about her love life.
“Here’s the thing, I did meet someone on a plane when I was flying somewhere,” Hoda shared. “It was the weirdest connection in the world. We were both crying. It was really strange…you know when you have one of those [connections] that everything is firing on all cylinders?”
She went on: “He kept saying, ‘Is this a dream? Is this real?’ Fast forward, I went to Cannes [with Joy 101] to talk about our company, and he was in the audience.”
At this point, Jenna and Sheinelle were gasping. After the event, the mystery man approached Hoda and said hi, but according to the journalist: “It all kinda went away.”
“That’s the end of the story?” Jenna chimed in, to which Hoda responded: “That’s not actually the end, we have texted recently.”
© Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via GSheinelle jumped in and asked Hoda if she thought he was good looking, and she immediately answered: “Yes, he’s really cute.” She also confirmed that the mystery man is single!
Time will only tell if the two get together, but Hoda enjoyed chatting about him with Jenna and Sheinelle.
Inside Hoda Kotb’s relationship history
Hoda has been single since January 2022, after she split with her longtime partner and fiancee Joel Schiffman. Hoda announced their split in an emotional statement at the time, saying: “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.”
“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,” she added.
© Patrick McMullanBefore connecting with Joel at a Wall Street event in 2013, Hoda was married to tennis coach Burzis Kanga. The two tied the knot in 2005 and divorced in 2008. Since her split with Joel, she’s been open about her journey to find love.
“I’ve been really getting my sea legs. When it happens will be the time it’s supposed to happen,” she candidly shared in May 2025, per People. “When things are supposed to end, they end. And when things are supposed to begin, they begin. But you have to be wide open because if you’re not, it’s not happening.”
© Getty Images for Empire State ReWhile she is open to love, Hoda’s main priority is to her daughters, Haley, nine, and Hope, seven. The family recently traveled to the Bahamas together for Hoda’s 62nd birthday, which the former morning show host bragged about on the Today Show.
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