Hoda Kotb is sharing her thoughts on what she imagines her future wedding will be like, two years after her widely publicized separation from ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman. Last week on an episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, Kotb’s co-anchor Jenna Bush Hager asked her: “Would you like to have a small wedding or a large wedding one day?” The broadcast journalist, 60, replied: “When that day comes, probably a small [wedding].”
During a conversation about “micro weddings,“ also known as weddings with a guest list capped at 30, Kotb further explained her thoughts. Regarding Kotb’s future guest list, Bush Hager, 43, joked: “Don’t forget about me.” She added: “Don’t move on to your health and wellness and invite all your gurus and forget about me.”
Hoda Kotb Says She Wants A 'Small' Wedding One Day During New Today with Hoda & Jenna Episode
Kotb mentioned that her views on the size of a wedding haven't shifted much since she got married to her ex, Burzis Kanga, in 2005. "I did a destination wedding," she reflected during the episode. She continued: "It wasn’t small, but it wasn’t huge." Kotb and tennis coach Kanga were married for three years before splitting in 2008. Following the separation, she began a relationship with financier Schiffman.
The Today anchor and businessman discreetly dated for two years before announcing their relationship in 2015. They later expanded their family by adopting two daughters: Haley, now 7, and Hope, now 5, in 2017 and 2019, respectively. Kotb and Schiffman became engaged in November 2019. Kotb shocked fans in January 2022 when noting on Today that she and Schiffman were no longer an item after eight years together.
Kotb told viewers at the time: "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 adorable, delightful children and as friends."
She elaborated: "It’s not like something happened. They say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason, for a season or for a lifetime. And I feel like ours was meant to be there for a season." Even though they've ended their romantic relationship, the two continue to share a positive coparenting dynamic, which is evident on social media.
Kotb is preparing to leave the Today show on January 10, 2025, which will allow her to spend more time with Schiffman and their children. Kotb's fans are still reeling after the television personality announced that she will be departing the show after working for NBC for over 26 years. She revealed on-air on September 26th that her 60th birthday in August inspired her to make a major change in her life and career.
“I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new,” she said while sitting beside colleagues Bush Hager, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones. “I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs, and I thought, ‘This is what the top of the wave feels like for me.’ And I thought it can’t get better, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on.”
The mom of two noted that wanting to spend more time with her children was a big motivator for her choice to leave the show. “Obviously I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have,” Kotb said. She added: “I feel like we only have a finite amount of time. And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”
Almost two months have passed since Kotb revealed that she’d be departing the Today show. Now, it has been confirmed that her colleague Melvin, 45, will take over her co-anchor role. Beginning in January, Melvin will star alongside Guthrie, 52.
