Kotb and Schiffman are parents to daughters Hope Catherine, 4, and Haley Joy, 6
Hoda Kotb is celebrating her ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman on Father’s Day.
On Sunday, the Today co-host, 58, shared a photo of daughters Hope Catherine, 4, and Haley Joy, 6, with their dad, 64, in honor of the special day.
“Happy father’s day to a great dad!!” she captioned the Instagram photo of Schiffman and her two daughters, who smile as their dad hugs them in his arms.
Kotb and Schiffman, a financier, began dating quietly for a couple of years before going public in 2015. The couple announced their engagement in November 2019, when Schiffman popped the question while they were enjoying an intimate dinner by the beach.
The television journalist announced their split in January 2022, saying during Today with Hoda & Jenna, “We decided that we’re 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 adorable, delightful children, and as friends.”
She went on to praise Schiffman: “He’s a great guy. He’s a very kind and loving person, and I feel privileged to have spent eight years with him. We are both good and we are both kind of going on our way and our path. We’ll be good parents to those two lovely kids.”
Recently, Kotb opened up about her adoption process on an episode of Just B with Bethenny Frankel, where she talked about worrying she’d run out of time for motherhood.
“I think when you realize that that wasn’t meant for you, or you think that at least initially, it’s a terrifying part of life because you have to face it,” she said. “I remember never saying out loud that I wanted kids, never, because it was too late.”
“For girls that it’s too late for, you don’t say it because if you say it, you’re expressing something that you’re never going to get.”
Kotb emotionally recalled getting the call about daughter Haley, who has since been joined by sister Hope.
“I don’t know what birth feels like, and I bet it was amazing, but this was really close,” she said through tears. “I remember that feeling like it was yesterday.”