NEWSHoda Kotb Admits: 'I Don't Think I Would've Adopted If It Hadn't Been For' Ex-Fiancé Joel Schiffman Amid Reports She Wants Him Back
Hoda Kotb is reflecting on the impact former fiancé Joel Schiffman had on her journey to motherhood.
After the Today anchor, 57, and the financier, 64, announced last month that they were going their separate ways following their near eight-year union, Kotb revealed that if it had not been for Schiffman, she may not have adopted her daughters, Haley, 5, and Hope, 3.
While sitting down with co-host Savannah Guthrie for an interview with Good Housekeeping, the I've Loved You Since Forever author shared that her previous stable union with Schiffman gave her the support she needed to make the decision to raise two children.
"I don’t think I would’ve adopted if it hadn’t been for Joel," Kotb admitted during the interview, published Monday, March 21. "Having a stable relationship in that moment was really important. Once that fell into place, it didn’t seem as scary to me."
The Today With Hoda and Jenna star and the businessman went public with their relationship in 2015. The former flames announced they were engaged in 2019, the same year they adopted Hope. Kotb and Schiffman welcomed Hailey into their family in 2017.
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During the January 31 episode of the morning news show, Kotb dropped the bombshell that she and Schiffman called off their plans to wed.
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"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 television star shockingly told viewers at the time.
Despite going public with their split, a source exclusively told OK! that Kotb is not ready to completely throw in the towel on their romance. "She worries she messed [things] up and is making all sorts of promises to Joel, hoping that he'll come around," an insider dished.
The Dateline NBC correspondent, "is finding that being a single mom is a lot harder than she imagined, and she's been asking Joel for one more chance," the source spilled, "But so far, he's not interested."
