ENTERTAINMENTJenna Bush Hager Wants to 'Set Up' Former Co-Host Hoda Kotb With a New Man: 'I've Been in a Drought'
On 'TODAY With Jenna & Friends,' Jenna Bush Hager expressed her consistent pursuit to find Hoda Kotb a boyfriend.
July 14 2025, Published 1:09 p.m. ET
Jenna Bush Hager is getting intimately involved in her former co-host's love life.
The mom-of-three, 43, is eager to set up Hoda Kotb with someone new over three years after her split from fiancé Joel Schiffman.
Hoda Kotb previously co-hosted 'TODAY' with Jenna Bush Hager.
"I like to set people up, for sure, but I've been in a little bit of a drought. I haven't set anybody up for a year or two. So I need to start thinking," Bush Hager said on the Monday, July 14, episode of TODAY With Jenna & Friends. "You know who I really want to set up...my girl Hoda."
Kotb married Burzis Kanga in 2005 and got divorced in 2008. She started dating Schiffman in 2013, got engaged to him in 2019 and called off the engagement in 2022. The TODAY anchor shares two daughters, Haley, 8, and Hope, 5, with her former fiancé.
Hoda Kotb Almost Dated Lenny Kravitz
Jenna Bush Hager wants to find Hoda Kotb a new man.
This was not the first time Bush Hager encouraged Kotb, 60, to find a new man, as during an April episode of TODAY With Jenna & Friends, she recounted trying to set her up with Lenny Kravitz.
"There was a period where I was trying to set Hoda up with him, because she –– like every other woman in the world –– finds him irresistible," she spilled.
Bush Hager attempted to play matchmaker in September 2024 when the rockstar appeared on TODAY.
"He was wearing like a mesh top and leather pants, and I was, like, trying to set them up," she recalled, noting he was "so friendly" that it felt like she was "setting up [her] uncle with Hoda."
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Jenna Bush Hager tried setting up Hoda Kotb with Lenny Kravitz.
"Lenny looks so edgy, but he is so normal," guest co-host Tyra Banks said. "It’s weird, because he looks all like, 'Hey, what’s up baby? How you doin’?' But he’s like, 'Hey! How’s your mom?' And it’s like he’s a dad."
Bush Hager publicly called out Kotb and Kravitz when he performed outside Rockefeller Center.
"Are you looking for love?” Bush Hager asked at the time, to which he replied he's "always" seeking romance.
"Well, I know of an electric lady if you want her number! She’s right here!" she exclaimed.
Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager Are Nominated for a Daytime Emmy
Hoda Kotb ended her engagement to Joel Schiffman in January 2022.
During today's episode, Bush Hager and guest co-host Ciara called Kotb via Zoom to celebrate their Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host.
"You are a legend, Hoda...and you are continuously killing it, [Jenna.] You guys have already won," the singer gushed.
"And Jenna...can I just tell you that you are doing such a fantastic job?" Kotb added. "There's nobody on planet Earth like you, and you're doing great, so I'm cheering you on."
