Hoda Kotb was moved to tears during a new segment of Today with Hoda and Jenna when a pre-recorded clip of her 4-year-old daughter, Hope, was played on-air. The young child had a touching message for her mother, which also caused Kotb’s co-anchor, Jenna Bush Hager, to become emotional. In the video, little Hope talked about her mother’s new children’s book, Hope Is A Rainbow, released earlier this month.
During the episode, Bush Hager, 42, sweetly surprised her friend and co-worker. “We know that this was written with Hope as an inspiration,” Bush Hager told Kotb, 59, referring to the new book. “Just take a quick look,” Bush Hager told Kotb before the video of her toddler began.
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Hoda Kotb Moved To Tears After Jenna Bush Hager Surprises Her With A Touching Video Of Her Daughter Hope
As Hope (whom Kotb shares with ex Joel Schiffman) made her appearance on the pre-recorded video, her mother (as well as the audience) was presented with a heartwarming sight: the child holding a copy of the book Kotb wrote for her.
Hope conveyed her congratulations to her mom in a manner that was endearing beyond measure, prompting an emotional reaction from Kotb. “I’m so excited for my book to come out, and I love it,” she adorably gushed in the clip. “I know I’m enough because my mommy loves me.”
“I don’t know if you heard that,” Bush Hager said to Kotb after the clip ended as Kotb asked: “What did she just say?”
The two then repeated Hope’s words in unison: “I know I’m enough because my mommy loves me.” As Kotb wiped away tears she joked: “That was not nice” as Bush Hager added: “Too much to bear, too much” while getting choked up as well.
"That was really not nice," Kotb quipped as Bush Hager (who is also a mom of three) concurred: "It's putting us over the edge."
In August 2023, Kotb shared that the motivation behind her book, Hope is a Rainbow, is her 4-year-old daughter’s hospital experience. The child, as many fans will recall, was hospitalized in March of last year.
Kotb hasn't shared any other details about her daughter's condition. “I wrote this a while ago, before Hope was, you know, got sick and is on the mend and all that stuff,” the broadcast journalist told fans during the August 2nd episode of the talk show.
She added: “It was based on my daughter, who of course I had dreamt of her and hoped for her and her name just fell in.”
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Along with Hope, Kotb also shares 7-year-old daughter Haley Joy with her ex-fiancé, financier Schiffman, 66. Kotb and Schiffman memorably called off their engagement earlier last year, but still co-parent their two children.
Regarding Hope’s health and Kotb’s book (released on March 5, 2024) the television personality told Today viewers: “It just reminds me — and [Hope] just reminds me — that hope is all around every corner. No matter what you go through, no matter what hardship you endure, there she is.”
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Kotb went on, sweetly saying that her daughter “is a rainbow, and so is hope,” noting that her child is kind-hearted, and “will always give away her last blueberry” and “sees magic in everything.”
The author continued: “A rainbow to me represents something that you can’t quite touch, but it’s magical and amazing.”
“So when I thought about how I carry Hope in my heart, I realized, ‘She IS a rainbow.’ She’s this beautiful, magical, incredible child. It just got me thinking about all the things where kids find magic and hope, and this book is full of that.” (Aww!)
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In 2017, Kotb made a delightful announcement to Today fans – she had adopted her first child, Haley. Ten years earlier, she had been diagnosed with breast cancer which left her unable to conceive, as she explained. The co-anchor was thrilled when her family grew again in 2019 when she welcomed Hope.
