Hoda Kotb says she’s found her footing co-parenting with Joel Schiffman after their breakup.
Following their split in January, they “have it down” when it comes to raising the daughters they adopted — Haley Joy, 5, and Hope Catherine, 3 — the Today anchor, 58, told People.
“He’ll have a Saturday, and I’ll do the Sunday,” she explained of the arrangement. “We switch each week. He’ll take the girls and do some fun things, and I’ll take some quiet time. It’s a healthy mix, and the kids love it. He’s a great dad… We share these beautiful daughters — lucky us.”
Kotb said communication and flexibility have been key with Schiffman, a businessman who also has an adult daughter from a previous relationship.
“‘Does that work for you?’ ‘Do you need me to change that?’ We’re very open about fixing things so that everybody’s needs are being met,” she explained, noting they have two nannies to help as well.
Kotb said the girls are “doing really well” in the wake of the split, “and I feel very peaceful.” She added, “I also know I’m on the right road.”
Of the breakup after eight years — and delaying their wedding multiple times due to COVID — Kotb said there are no bad feelings between them.
“I don’t regret one day, not one minute, not one second of our time together because it brought me here,” she said of Schiffman, 64. “I have two incredible children I share with him. And it’s because of Joel that I have Haley and Hope, without question. I think I might have been too afraid to do it alone. That’s not something I love to admit, but it’s true.”
Kotb said she “never thought” she’d have a family after her divorce and breast cancer battle. She adopted for the first time at 52.
“I always imagined family as my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister,” she admitted. “I envisioned it that way until I was 50. Imagine someone saying, ‘Hey, guess what? You’re actually going to have a whole other family.’ It still surprises me! It delights me to know that I have Haley and Hope… It blows my mind that I get to have this adorable little family that’s just right for me.”
And, yes, she still plans to adopt a third child. “It’s definitely in the universe for me. I feel like whatever is meant to be is meant to be.”
Kotb, who was previously divorced, also remains optimistic about love.
“I’ve had past loves, and I feel like I’ll have future loves,” she said. “Once you know who you are all the way, then love can come in. You know how people say the older you get, the more you know who you are? I think someone who meets me now will meet me for real.”
Kotb announced on Today in January that she and Schiffman were ending their 8-year relationship. She explained they “are better as friends and parents.”
The pair started dating in 2015 and became engaged in 2019. They adopted Haley in 2017 and Hope in 2019.
