Inside Hoda Kotb's Amazing Journey to Motherhood

In my humble opinion, Hoda Kotb is a true testament to resilience, grace, and unwavering love. Her journey as a mother, from juggling puppies and babies to facing the terrifying health scare of her daughter Hope, has not only shaped her but also made her stronger.

Time is tight in Hoda Kotb‘s jam-packed mornings.

From 3:15 when her alarm wakes her up until 7 a.m., when she sits at the Today show desk (a position she’s been sharing with Savannah Guthrie since 2017, but will leave in early 2025 as announced on Sept. 26), the co-anchor has to squeeze in a workout, drink a green smoothie, shower, and go through hair and makeup at the show’s New York set.

However, she consistently takes a moment for a specific routine: Every day, she writes down three things she’s thankful for and one fantastic event from the past 24 hours using the journal and pen that are always on her table, as she shared with Inside Chic in 2016.

“Not every event needs to be significant. For instance, I had an engaging chat with someone I met on the street,” she pointed out. “Or I’m jogging in the park and was about to stop, but then an elderly man pumped his fists and cheered, ‘Keep going, keep going.’ I replied, ‘Wow, yes, I will keep going.’

According to the experienced journalist, the habit encourages an optimistic outlook on life. In simpler terms, he said that it involves finding the positive aspects as you go about your daily routine.

Of course, she needn’t look too far to find her dose of Joy.

Over the last few decades, the 60-year-old’s career has seen an impressive climb. However, for Kotb, there is nothing more precious than spending time with her 7-year-old daughter, Haley Joy Kotb, whom she welcomed on Valentine’s Day.

She declared during her interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in January 2018 that she’d choose her most difficult day, the one when everything seemed to crumble, over her best day prior to Haley. “Haley transformed everything for me.

Ever since then, she’s been infusing optimism into her life following the birth of her second daughter, Hope Catherine Kotb, in April 2019. Excitedly, she revealed this joyous news to her coworkers, making a surprise call to the show that was only a secret to everyone except Guthrie and Jenna Bush Hager, her fellow cohost for the fourth hour. “I’m so ecstatic she’s here,” she exclaimed.

As a beaming optimist hailing from the heartland of Oklahoma and nurtured in the Appalachian hills of West Virginia, I gracefully navigate life’s journey with profound appreciation. Yet, every time that question echoed—Do I have children?—it pierced my heart ever so slightly.

Never mind that she knew the strangers who asked meant no ill will. Or that she responded gracefully to the inquiry, noting, no, she didn’t have children, but she simply adored nieces Hannah and Ella. Still, “I felt a little ouch inside,” she told TopMob News, “because I felt like something was missing.”

2007 found her battling breast cancer, an experience that made her stronger but denied her the possibility of having children. As she underwent treatment, she expressed, “Each time I take these pills, they are performing two tasks for me. They’re combating my cancer, and they’re removing any chance I might have to conceive a child.

She found it extremely difficult to accept or comprehend the information, as if it were a bitter pill to swallow. Yet, despite the challenge, she perseveres, ingesting it daily, both day and night. It’s all rather peculiar because a part of her is filled with sorrow while another part feels invigorated, like she has been given a fresh start.

Despite that heart-wrenching ceremony, Kotb quickly accepted her circumstances and even contemplated giving up her thriving television career. She had joined NBC News in 1998 after a decade of moving around from Illinois to Mississippi, Florida, and Louisiana, where she worked as a local news correspondent. She was considering this change for the chance to spend more time with children, either as a teacher or a director at a summer camp.

However, a faint voice deep within her persisted, insisting her own child was somewhere out there. “I sensed her presence before she arrived, I could feel her,” she shared with TopMob News (which is why the title of her 2018 children’s book, I’ve Loved You Since Forever, resonated so strongly with her).

Isn’t it reasonable for her to get the one thing she’s always desired? Given that she made a bold decision by venturing into love once more following her brief marriage with the University of New Orleans tennis coach, Burzis Kanga, and a two-year relationship with Jay Blumenkopf.

One evening at a professional gathering that she almost didn’t attend, she stumbled upon 66-year-old financier Joel Schiffman. This encounter led to a relationship she held very dear, and for two years, she referred to him on air as “Boots” to keep their romance private.

“One day, I asked myself, ‘Why not me?’ She shared this moment in an interview with People in 2017, as she embarked on her adoption journey. The desire to adopt had become a deep longing that she couldn’t ignore anymore.

Broaching the subject with Schiffman—already a dad to a grown daughter—was terrifying.

She confided in People magazine that the thought of expressing her desire to adopt a child together was daunting, as it made the idea seem more tangible. After she shared her wish to adopt, she added, “Let’s give it some time, think about it for a while.

Her reaction, swift and assured, left her speechless – and filled with conviction that she had found the ideal partner for parenthood. As she reminisced, she said, “He declared, ‘I don’t require more time. Let’s embark on this adventure right away.'” At that moment, she broke down in tears. It was as if a dam had broken.

In autumn of 2016, while she was preparing to share their first home with Schiffman, she embarked on the application procedure. When they informed her that they couldn’t guarantee anything and wished her luck, she confided in TopMob News about her situation. It was then that she resorted to her reliable journal, repeatedly writing, “Dear God, if it’s possible…

She remembers the moment that prayer was answered. The exact moment.

That frosty New York City morning, she found herself engaged in a FaceTime call about an article with a source, when suddenly her phone buzzed with a message from someone labeled “Ashley Project” in her contacts.

Understandably wanting to keep the process under wraps, she’d told only her family, then-cohost Kathie Lee Gifford and a few other friends, “So I used the word project so I wouldn’t slip up and say adoption,” she explained.

In response to the brief message “Call me”, Kotb promptly concluded their conversation, checked the time, which was 11:54 a.m., and shared, “I knew that was the exact moment something was shifting,” she told Ellen DeGeneres. “I just sensed it.

On Valentine’s Day, she and Schiffman, who are no longer romantic partners but continue as cherished co-parents, marked the occasion by spending it with their respective new partners.

She shared with Today, “It seemed to me that by a certain point in my life, I’d gone through all the experiences I’ve had, and then unexpectedly she appeared. My life up until then was filled with joy beyond what I could have envisioned, but this surpasses even my wildest dreams. I never thought love at first sight was real, but now I know it is.

Over the past month, I’ve been nestled within our luxurious penthouse high above New York City’s Upper West Side, sharing this cosmic abode with my beloved Haley Joy – named after Halley’s Comet, as she gracefully glides through life just like that celestial body. Together, we’ve been indulging in meals, dozing off for naps, and even letting out the occasional burp, all while enjoying the comforts of our heavenly home.

In order to prevent going out, except for scheduled doctor visits, essential baby items were purchased instead. Kotb explained this to her doorman by stating that she was having a baby shower at home.

One day, she dashed out to pick up something from the local drugstore, Duane Reade. While on the street, a woman greeted her casually with a hello, mentioned something about the Today show, and Kotb responded likewise. Later, she was asked a question that she had heard countless times before: “Do you have children?” Kotb recalled, “I just looked at her and said, ‘Yes,’ adding, ‘I have a daughter.’

At that point, she acknowledged herself as “an unusual bundle of nerves.” However, she seemed indifferent to the fact that she was weeping at a street corner. “For the first time,” she declared, “I uttered aloud words I thought I’d never say in my life. And it felt incredible.

Numerous remarkable instances unfolded, encompassing the extraordinary (like the baby’s debut on “Today” show!) as well as seemingly ordinary moments that hold immense significance when you experience them firsthand – such as witnessing your child take their first steps or calling out for “Dada.

On the day Haley ventured her initial, slightly wobbly steps, it was described as follows: “One day, unexpectedly, she took a little snooze, then woke up and began walking,” Kotb explained to DeGeneres. “It was almost unbelievable! I didn’t realize when or how it occurred. She just said her goodbyes and off she went!

The first time Kotb listened to Haley’s infectious laughter, he likened it to the most delightful melody in the universe. Despite her teething and the sleepless nights that followed, it was all a source of joy for him. In an interview with TopMob News, he humorously stated, “I feel like I’ve slept for 53 years.

Although Kotb recognizes potential challenges of parenthood at fifty for the first time, she expressed indifference towards those issues. What she emphasized is the sense of urgency when one desires something deeply and has waited a long while. Each passing second becomes cherished, and every moment feels precious in a way that she’s unsure she would have fully appreciated had she become a mother at a younger age.

As a devoted admirer, I refer to the unknown individual who deemed it suitable to pen a letter to Kotb, expressing her perspective on why she believed it was inappropriate for Kotb to have children later in life.

Despite finding it hard to be apart from her daughters, when Kotb reported on the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, she attached one of her daughter’s small shoes to her bag and carried a pile of photos and a burp cloth with her. Yet, she manages to identify the benefits even in the most challenging parenting mishaps.

In a conversation with Us Weekly in 2018, the former Dateline NBC star put it this way: “Given the hardships you’ve faced in life, you have a greater capacity for patience,” she explained, reminiscing about an occasion when Schiffman was away and she was struggling to let their dog Blake outdoors while also feeding Haley at the same time.

Kotb commented that the dog had tipped over a picture. With tears streaming down her face, an upset barking sound coming from him, and a mess on the floor consisting of poop and shattered glass, she felt like she might collapse under the pressure. But then, in a moment of reflection, she realized how fortunate she was for having this dog, even if it had caused such chaos.

In my world, I find myself swaying to the rhythm of “Despacito” during the day, as I shared with Us Weekly. Yet, it’s the evenings that truly delight me, snuggled up in bed engrossed in the pages of Goodnight Moon, Cat in the Hat, and Hoda Kotb’s book. It’s hard to imagine a life more blissful than this #blessed state I find myself in.

She even managed to turn Hope’s terrifying 2023 health scare into a silver lining situation.

“She’s doing much better,” Kotb told USA Today in March. “We’ve learned how to manage all of it.”

Additionally, she added, “She demonstrated, and I myself have taken note, when a family encounters an extremely challenging and terrifying predicament, as we did, and many families find themselves in such perilous circumstances, they can actually grow stronger. Haley, her elder sibling, has become a more compassionate sister. Hope is a more robust individual than I previously believed, and I never thought it was possible to love her any deeper.

So why not add another guest to the party?

For quite some time, Kotb has casually mentioned the possibility of adopting once more. She shared that the process was slightly postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, but she emphasized, “I haven’t ruled it out.” This sentiment was expressed during her interview on The Jamie Kern Lima Show in August. “Life has a way of sending signals,” she added. “I’ve held onto all our baby items because, to be honest, life’s capacity for love and acceptance is boundless.

Since she’s taking a step back from her role at Today now, as she herself stated, “my family requires and merits a larger portion of my time,” I see no better moment than this to… (continue with your subsequent sentence)

The decision to expand her family was relatively easy, she shared with DeGeneres back in 2020.

She clarified, “I was jotting down thoughts in my diary and pondering that question. In it, I penned, ‘Am I considering if we ought to?’ Then I wrote, ‘Do we have enough love?’ and I responded, ‘Yes.’ Next, I asked, ‘Do we have enough time?’ and again, the answer was ‘Yes.’ Lastly, I wondered, ‘Would our family benefit more?’ To which I replied, ‘Yes.’ So, it seems my response is affirmative.

Always look for the good.

2024-09-26 18:19

Inside Hoda Kotb’s Amazing Journey to Motherhood

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