Now that the Today show's Hoda Kotb's has revealed that her engagement to Joel Schiffman is off,
it's got us wondering — what went wrong? Are the two still friends? Surprisingly,
they might be closer than ever.
Broadcast journalist and television personality Hoda Kotb was over the
moon in November 2019 when she announced her engagement to businessman Joel Schiffman.
On a bombshell episode of the Today show, Hoda described the moment of the proposal.
"And he was like, 'I have something else I’d like to say,' and he said some beautiful things,
and then he got down on one knee. Then he said, 'Would you be my wife?'"
Sadly, planning the wedding proved to be difficult for the couple amid the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic. Announcing the initial delay, Kotb dished to E! News in October 2020:
"We were supposed to have it a month from right now. I mean, that was our big master plan,
Joel and me. And we were going to do it at a tropical destination and then we decided
we were going to wait. Who knows when people are going to be flying or feel comfortable flying?"
But now it appears the couple has decided to call off the wedding altogether,
and the reason why just might surprise you.
Hoda Kotb stunned the masses on January 31 when she announced that she and her fiancé,
Joel Schiffman, had pulled the plug on their relationship. Hoda revealed on the Today show:
"We decided that we're better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple."
As always, her trusted Today co-anchor Jenna Bush Hager was
right by her side as she delivered the painful news. Hoda confessed to Hager:
"This is weird and awkward [..] There's nothing that relieves your soul more,
I think, than when you tell the truth."
Despite their split, Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman will remain dedicated co-parents
to their adopted daughters Haley and Hope. Kotb went through her adoption journey with
Schiffman while they were still dating. The Today co-host opened up about the experience
on People's "Me Becoming Mom" podcast and admitted she wasn't
sure if Schiffman was ready to become an adoptive father. Hoda recalled being unsure:
"I think what I was probably the most scared of was that I knew I
was going to do it anyway. [...] What he said would have depended on whether
or not he was going to be in my life, and I wasn't sure I wanted that to go away."
When she approached her partner with her plans, Kotb remembered thinking,
"This is the end of a relationship or the beginning of a family."
The latter was true, as Schiffman agreed to be a part of her adoption journey, explaining:
"I chose a man who chose my happiness over his convenience maybe in that moment."
Since the pair decided to begin their family, Kotb has shared many
adorable moments with Schiffman and their girls on social media over the years. In August 2021,
Kotb shared inside looks at her family's celebration of the newscaster's 57th birthday,
including her then-fiance and daughters singing in celebration in a video posted to Instagram.
Before their plans for marriage crumbled,
Hota Kotb revealed in 2020 that she and then-fiance Joel Schiffman were considering
adding a third child into their family. Hoda said in an October 2020 interview with ET:
"Joel and I have had this conversation because you
feel like you get a [limit] of time on earth and your heart expands,
and sometimes you don't realize your heart's ability to expand until you've filled [it]."
Kotb said she and Schiffman wondered about the possibility of a third child and if they
would have the time and love to grow their family. Hoda said at the time:
"The answer to all those questions seems to be 'yes, we would be.'"
According to Today, Kotb and Schiffman filed paperwork in
2020 to get the ball rolling with their third adoption. However,
Kotb revealed on Watch What Happens Live in July 2021 that the adoption process
stalled due to the pandemic — much like her wedding plans with Schiffman. Hoda told Cohen:
"That's what I heard from our agency. Everything's slow, but
they say wait wisely and just be, so we're just gonna be."
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