Standing by her friend. Kathie Lee Gifford shared a message of love and support for Hoda Kotb following news of her split from Joel Schiffman.
“My darling Hoda, I am truly so proud of the way you have handled a very difficult and painful decision,” the former Today cohost, 68, wrote on Tuesday, February 1, in response to the morning show sharing news of the split on Instagram. “As usual you did it with grace and kindness. May God bless you and your precious girls and Joel as well as you continue down this thing called life. I love you.”
Kotb, 57, announced during the Today show on Monday, January 31, that she and Schiffman, 63, decided to call off their engagement after eight years together.
“Joel and I have had a lot of prayerful and meaningful conversations over the holidays and we decided that we are better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple, so we decided we are going to start this new year on our new path as loving parents to our adorably delightful children and as friends,” the journalist said, referring to their daughters Haley, 4, and Hope, 2. “They say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason, a season or a lifetime, [and] this was for a season.”
Acknowledging that many viewers noticed that she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring, Kotb explained that she wanted to be honest with everyone who has followed her relationship and journey to parenthood. “I think a lot of women know what this feels like, in this moment, to be changing course in life,” the Oklahoma native explained. “But sometimes in your life, you just have to share the truth.”
She continued: “Sometimes it just doesn’t work, and it’s okay. To be able to acknowledge it and say to yourself, ‘This is the path that we’re going to be taking from here on,’ … I feel better now that I’ve said it.”
Kotb and Schiffman began dating in 2013 but didn’t go public with their relationship until two years later. The financier proposed in November 2019, which the children’s book author happily shared with Today viewers at the time. The former couple adopted Haley in February 2017 and Hope in April 2019.
In February 2020, Kotb told Us Weekly that her 50s have been “the best years of my life” thanks to her career, her relationship with Schiffman and becoming a mother.
“Dreams don’t always get fulfilled, OK?” she said at the time. “They just don’t. And that’s OK. I’ve had plenty of them. But I just can’t believe they’re happening now. I can’t believe it.”
