Hoda Kotb has shared a heartwarming photo of her oldest daughter Haley Joy celebrating the start of the 2022 Winter Olympics following her split from her fiancé Joel Schiffman and her awkward on-air interview with Jennifer Lopez.
The Today co-anchor took to Instagram on Friday morning to post a snapshot of her little girl — who turns five this month — holding up a homemade Olympic cauldron crafted out of tinfoil and flame-colored construction paper.
‘Who is ready for the @olympics ? We are!! #lightthecauldron,’ Kotb, 57, captioned the image, which shows her smiling daughter posing inside their New York City apartment.
Hoda Kotb, 57, took to Instagram on Monday to share an adorable photo of her oldest daughter Haley Joy holding up a homemade Olympic cauldron in celebration of the 2022 Winter Games
The Today star also shared an Instagram Stories photo of herself wearing a navy sweater with an American flag and the Olympic rings on the front while posing with her co-host Willie Geist
Kotb recently split from her long-time partner Joel Schiffman, 63, with whom she shares adopted daughters Haley Joy and Hope Catherine
Haley looked ready for Valentine’s day, as well as the Beijing Olympics, in her cream top and red pants that matched her red glasses. Kotb and her ex also share a two-year-old daughter, Hope Catherine.
The adorable photo got plenty of likes from fans and friends, including writer and actress Jill Kargman, who commented: ‘Is she the cutest?! PRESH.’
‘She always looks so happy! You’re such a good mom Hoda,’ someone else wrote, while another added: ‘Her smile is just beautiful!!…Yay for the Olympics!!’
Kotb also shared an Instagram Stories photo of herself wearing a navy sweater with an American flag and the Olympic rings on the front while posing with her co-host Willie Geist on the show.
On Thursday, Jennifer Lopez jokingly ribbed Kotb about her recent breakup while dodging questions about her own relationship with Ben Affleck
The exchange took place toward the end of the sit-down interview, when Kotb held up Lopez’s recent People magazine cover. Inside, the Bronx native talked about how much she loved her on-again beau Affleck
Kotb purposefully covered a headline about her split from Schiffman with her hand, saying: ‘Let me just block out this corner ‘
The Instagram posts came just hours after Lopez jokingly ribbed Kotb about her recent breakup while dodging questions about her own relationship with Ben Affleck.
The exchange took place on Thursday’s episode of the Today show toward the end of J.Lo’s sit-down interview with Kotb and her co-anchor Savannah Guthrie.
When Kotb held up Lopez’s recent People magazine cover featuring an interview in which the Bronx native talked about how much she loves her on-again beau, she purposefully covered a headline about her split from Schiffman with her hand.
‘Let me just block out this corner,’ she said, smiling.
‘You don’t want to talk about your personal stuff? Is that what it is, Hoda?’ Lopez joked, ripping the magazine out of the host’s hand.
‘Touché,’ Kotb replied, giving Lopez a high five.
‘You don’t want to talk about your personal stuff? Is that what it is, Hoda?’ Lopez joked. ‘Touché,’ Kotb replied, giving Lopez a high five
Kotb announced her broken engagement to Schiffman on the Today show on Monday at the top of the fourth hour
The news comes two years after Schiffman popped the question to Kotb during a romantic getaway in Mexico. They are pictured right after he proposed
There was plenty of laughter, but Lopez had taken the upper hand in the interview, and a delighted Savannah Guthrie called the jab ‘mutually assured destruction.’
Kotb announced on Monday that she and Schiffman, 63, had broken up two years after he had proposed, saying they are ‘better as friends and parents’ to their two adopted daughters.
The Today star shared the news at the top of the fourth hour of the morning show, telling viewers that she had called off her engagement to her long-time partner, with whom she had been in a relationship for eight years.
‘Joel and I have had a lot of prayer and meaningful conversations over the holidays and we decided that we are better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple,’ Kotb said.
‘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.’
Kotb said she and Schiffman are ‘better as friends and parents than they are as an engaged couple’
Kotb insisted there was no bad blood between them following the split.
‘It’s not like something happened,’ she added. ‘They say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason, a season or a lifetime, this was for a season.’
Hoda and Joel’s relationship timeline
- 2013: The couple first met in the summer of 2013 at a book signing. Joel attended as a fan, but they hit it off right away. Afterwards, they reconnected through someone who was running the event and eventually started dating
- 2015: The pair didn’t go public with their relationship until two years later, in 2015
- 2016: Hoda and Joel took a big step when they moved in together in October 2016, buying a luxury apartment in New York City
- 2017: In February 2017, they adopted their first child, a baby girl who they named Haley Joy
- 2019: Two years later, they adopted another baby girl, named Hope Catherine. The pair also got engaged that year – with Joel popping the question in November 2019 during a romantic getaway to Mexico
- 2020: The couple was supposed to say their ‘I dos’ in a beachside ceremony in Mexico in August 2020, but like many people that year, they had to postpone their nuptials because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They then moved the wedding to November 2020 – marking the one-year anniversary of their engagement – but that also had to be pushed back. In 2020, Hoda opened up about her and Joel’s desire to adopt a third child together in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com
- 2021: However, in July 2021 – nine months after she confirmed that the couple were in the process of trying to bring another baby into their family – she revealed that it was taking a lot longer than she expected. At the time, she claimed it was delayed because of the pandemic
- 2022: Just weeks after the couple rang in the New Year together, Hoda announced that they were calling off their engagement and going their separate ways
The journalist announced their breakup after her co-host Jenna Bush Hager pointed out that she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring.
She explained that it felt ‘weird and awkward’ to talk about it publicly, but she wanted to focus on the ‘joyous moments’ they had together.
‘A lot of women know what this feels like to be changing course in life I feel really breathe in this moment which is a strange feeling to feel. Sometimes in your life, you have to say the truth,’ she said.
After sharing the emotional news on both the show and on the official Hoda and Jenna Instagram account, she was flooded with messages of support from her A-list friends, including long-time pal and former co-host Kathie Lee Gifford.
‘My darling Hoda, I am truly so proud of the way you have handled a very difficult and painful decision,’ she wrote in an Instagram comment.
‘As usual you did it with grace and kindness. May God bless you and your precious girls and Joel as well as you continue down this thing called life. I love you.’
Celebrity chef Ina Garten also posted her own supportive comment, writing: ‘Sending you lots of love Hoda. You’re surrounded by people you love so you’ll always be good.’
In 2020, Kotb opened up about her and Schiffman’s desire to adopt a third child together in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com.
‘Sometimes I do think speaking something out loud sort of wills it into existence, weirdly,’ she said of her wish to grow her family.
‘You know, it’s almost like if you have a secret desire or dream you can even just whisper it. And if you do, there’s a chance you’re just giving it validity.
‘And, [then] again, you don’t want to say something out loud because what if it doesn’t happen. We don’t know what will happen.
‘I mean, we hope, we pray, we want it to, and we feel like we have enough love and room. You know, so far, our family is just getting better.’
However, in July 2021 — nine months later — she revealed that the process was taking a lot longer than she expected. At the time, she said it was because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘You know what’s funny about the adoption stuff that’s going on now? Apparently, it’s really slow during this time, during COVID,’ she said during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live. ‘I thought that it would be a different game.’
Kotb went on to explain that she and Schiffman had been told by their adoption agency that the pandemic has prompted many people who might normally want to give up their babies to ‘hold onto’ them instead.
The journalist announced their breakup after her co-host Jenna Bush Hager pointed out that she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring
Schiffman, a financier, asked Kotb to marry him in November 2019 while they were enjoying a romantic getaway in Mexico
‘They said that people who maybe normally would feel like it would be something they would want to do — have a child and then give it to someone to raise because they couldn’t — are holding onto things because they don’t have anything in that moment,’ she shared. ‘That’s what I’ve heard from our agency, that everything is slow.’
Kotb insisted at the time that they were not giving up the hope of expanding their brood, but they were waiting for the right time.
Kotb showed off her stunning engagement ring on the Today show, revealing a radiant cut diamond that was surrounded by blue stones, likely sapphires
‘They say wait wisely and just be. So we’re just going to be,’ she explained.
Schiffman, a financier, proposed to Kotb in November 2019 while they were enjoying a romantic getaway in Mexico, but they had to cancel their wedding twice due to the pandemic.
The couple was supposed to say their ‘I dos’ in a beachside ceremony in Mexico in August 2020, but like many people that year, they had to postpone their nuptials because of COVID-19.
They then moved the wedding to November 2020 — marking the one-year anniversary of their engagement — but that also had to be pushed back.
Kotb shared the news of her split from Schiffman just weeks after they spent the holidays together with their two daughters, her mother, Sameha, and her sister, Hala.
The pair first met in 2013 at a book signing. Schiffman attended as a fan, but right away, they hit it off. Afterward, they reconnected through someone who was running the event and eventually started dating.
They went public with their relationship in 2015.
The couple was supposed to say ‘I do’ in a beachside ceremony in Mexico in August 2020, but like many people that year, they had to postpone because of the COVID-19 pandemic
The pair first met in 2013 at a book signing and went public with their relationship in 2015
In February 2017, they adopted baby girl Haley Joy, after she spent years thinking that parenthood wasn’t in the cards for her.
Kotb, who was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 42 years old, came out of treatment unable to conceive.
She was originally nervous to bring up the topic of adoption to Schiffman, but she resolved to have the emotional conversation.
‘I remember when I went to speak to Joel about it… my heart was pounding. I think I was afraid of the answer, to be honest. But I knew I had to say something, I had to ask,’ she exclusively told DailyMail.com in 2018.
‘When I went to speak to him, he could tell there was something up, and I think he was just thinking, “What is happening?”‘
When Kotb told him she wanted to pursue adoption with him, she made it clear that he should feel free to take as much time as he needed to ponder that possibility.
In February 2017, they adopted baby girl Haley Joy. Two years later, they adopted another baby girl named Hope Catherine. Schiffman is pictured with Haley (left) and Hope (center)
The split comes seven months after Kotb revealed that she and Schiffman wanted to adopt a third baby together but were struggling to find one because of the pandemic
‘Take a day, a month, a year, whatever you need to think about it, and you can just let me know when you’re ready,’ she said, recounting the conversation. ‘And he just looked at me and said, “I don’t need a day.”‘
Kotb was overwhelmed by Schiffman’s immediate commitment.
‘I could have died,’ she said. ‘I was crying so hard, I soaked his T-shirt. It was incredible. And they have an amazing relationship.’
Two years later, they adopted their second baby girl, Hope Catherine.
‘We like the idea of Haley [having] a sibling because she has had such interesting circumstances to grow up. So it would be nice to be able to share it with somebody,’ she told Entertainment Tonight of their decision to have a second child.
Besides their apartment in Upper Manhattan, the former couple also share a four-bedroom waterfront property on Long Island. Amid the split, it is still unclear where they are going to live or raise their kids.