Maternity leave is over! Two months after surprising fans with news that she had adopted a baby girl, Today show cohost Hoda Kotb is returning to the NBC morning show Monday, April 17. Her cohosts Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie shared the news Thursday, April 13. “Now you can see more of Hoda every morning with Matt and Savannah,” a promo during the program said. “Join us as we welcome her back.”
The 52-year-old called in to the show February 21 to share her good news. “She’s a Valentine’s baby. She is the love of my life,” Kotb, 52, said of her daughter. “I didn’t know my heart could feel like this. This is a moment in my life that I never thought would happen, and here it is, happening to me.”
Throughout her leave, Kotb, who moved in with her financier boyfriend Joel Schiffman in October, has shared photos of her little one on Instagram. Lauer, Guthrie, Maria Shriver, Jenna Bush Hager and Kotb’s fourth-hour cohost Kathie Lee Gifford have all dropped by to meet Haley.
Kotb has also kept in touch by calling into the show. On April 7 she made an emotional phone call to celebrate nine years working with Gifford.
“I want to say something to you, Kath, on our ninth anniversary: My life has changed so profoundly since I met you,” said a weepy Kotb. “I told you this before, but I cannot believe the path my life took after our lives intersected. So for every single day of the nine years, I love you.”
