Hoda Kotb Says She and Ex-Fiancé Joel Schiffman Were 'Growing at Different Paces' Prior to Breakup: 'Hard to Be in Sync'

Mar. 15, 2025

Hoda Kotb attends Hudson River Park Friends 8th Annual Playground Committee Luncheon on March 8, 2024 (left); Joel Schiffman attends the 2018 Time 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center.Photo:John Nacion/Getty, Ben Gabbe/Getty

John Nacion/Getty, Ben Gabbe/Getty

Hoda Kotbis shedding new light on her split fromJoel Schiffman.

TheTodayshow host, whojust celebrated her 60th birthday, reflected onher 2022 split from Schiffmanon the August 12 episode of theJamie Kern Lima Show, as she admitted that they were growing at “different paces.”

“Joel is one of the best people I know. He really is a great human being,” Kotb said. “And I feel like I’m a great human being. But sometimes two great human beings together isn’t enough to make it work.”

Elaborating on what went wrong after eight years together – andthree years engaged– she said, “And I think when people are growing at different paces, it’s hard to be in sync. And I think a lot of people are probably in these situations. And I get it.”

Now, more than two years on from the split, asshe and Schiffman, 66, continue to co-parenttheirdaughters Hope, 4, and Haley, 7, Kotb said she’s confident there is “romance” in her future.

“I think it’s realizing – like, when I close my eyes and I envision the romantic part of my life, I can see it very clearly. I see it. I know it is coming for me,” she told Lima. “Because for the first time in my life, since after Hope, I am me. Someone’s meeting me – not the version that you might want, or the version that I’ll twist a little bit to fit your needs or what is appealing to you. But this is who I am. And I feel like, once you get there, you’re like, your heart rests.”

Joel Schiffman and Hoda Kotb attend the 2018 Time 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 24, 2018.Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

As for what she’s looking for, theToday with Hoda & Jennaco-host added, “I don’t even care about X, Y and Z. Tall, short, bald, not bald. I don’t care. But I know the essence and I can sense the soul of that person.'

“So is love coming? Yes. It’s coming. When is it coming? I don’t know,” she said.

Hoda Kotb celebrates her 60th birthday on NBC’s Today show at Rockefeller Plaza on August 12, 2024 in New York City.Debra L Rothenberg/WireImage

Debra L Rothenberg/WireImage

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“Some people, they’ll say, ‘Oh, everyone around me is married and I’m single, why hasn’t it happened for me?’ Or, ‘Why don’t I have that job?’ But you can’t live on other people’s timelines, you have to ride your own ride,” she continued.

“It’s about trusting that life is going to give you what you want when the timing is right. You need to have faith. These blessings are coming your way, you just have to believe you’re worthy of them.”

source: people.com