For 17 years, millions of Americans have woken up in the morning with Hoda Kotb on their screens, but today she says goodbye to her loyal viewers.
After 26 years at NBC, the TV legend is stepping away to spend more time with her young daughters, Haley Joy, eight, and Hope Catherine, five.
After celebrating her 60th birthday last year, the journalist realized she wanted to spend more time with her children, explaining: “I obviously had my children later in my life and I thought they deserved a bigger portion of my life.” time than me.” have. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time.’
From her headline-making antics with Kathie Lee Gifford at the ‘news and booze desk’ to her candid moments with Jenna Bush Hager, Hoda has been a staple in many people’s morning routines for nearly two decades.
During her time on Today, the TV legend won the hearts of fans by sharing her many personal ups and downs with the world, including her battle with breast cancer, in which she underwent a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, until his defense of adoption.
She has also bravely shared the ups and downs of her relationship with Today show viewers, including her heartbreaking decision to call off her engagement in 2022, which she announced live.
Recently, a single Hoda revealed that she is dating again, and is even open to using dating apps, despite admitting that prefers to be configured by friends.
With a broken marriage and engagement in her past, Hoda’s next relationship could be right around the corner. Here, FEMAIL looks back at the beloved presenter’s checkered relationship history…
For 17 years, millions of Americans have woken up in the morning with Hoda Kotb on their screens, but today she says goodbye to her loyal viewers.
Burzis Kanga: The couple married in 2005 but eventually separated.
Hoda met former University of New Orleans tennis coach Burzis Kanga at a Valentine’s Day fundraiser for the American Heart Association.
The couple dated for several years before officially marrying in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in 2005.
The small ceremony was held in front of his immediate family.
The reporter was an anchor for local station WWL when they met, but had moved to New York City after joining NBC in 2008.
Speaking about the relationship in June 2006, Hoda told New Orleans Living magazine: “We’ve been dating on and off for years. And sure, I had moved to New York, but then we ended up hooking up again. He proposed to me last May and we got together. We got married in December. And married life has been great!’
Hoda married former University of New Orleans tennis coach Burzis Kanga in 2005.
He continued: “We love just walking around New York, seeing some Broadway plays, going out to eat. There is a neighborhood bar that we like that plays soul music. If I’d known it was so much fun, I probably would have done it a long time ago!’
He confessed to the media that it was ‘difficult’ for him to acclimatise to the city.
Ultimately, their marriage ended in 2007 when Hoda filed for divorce. It was the same month that the journalist was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Ultimately, their marriage ended in 2007 when Hoda filed for divorce.
The divorce was finalized in 2008, and in an interview years later, Burzis told RadarOnline that living in New York was a major factor in the split.
“I guess I wasn’t used to the big city,” he explained. ‘New York can be overwhelming. I have lived in New Orleans for 30 years. This is my house.’
He continued: ‘We had some differences. My father was sick. I was sick. It was a difficult moment. Those were personal reasons for both of us.
‘The divorce took place under difficult conditions. Those were personal reasons for both of us. In retrospect, there was a level of immaturity on my part, mistakes I made.
He added: “It was a shame we were married for a short time. It’s a shame it happened like that.
‘I will always treasure our memories. She is the epitome of class. I think the world of her. We had great memories together.’
Speaking about the split on Today in October 2023, Hoda noted: “I went through a divorce and breast cancer simultaneously, and I remembered that I was barely functioning at the time, and I was thinking, ‘Is that it? goes?”
“I was thinking about some of my lowest moments during that time, what contributed to everything was that I was in horrible health and I didn’t care about that part, and you don’t realize how bad it gets and then you compound it, your health It gets worse, because you’re not well, and this went on and on.”
Joel Schiffman: The couple got engaged and adopted two daughters together, but they never ended up getting married
Hoda was then in an eight-year relationship with New York financier Joel.
Following their divorce, Hoda dated attorney Jay Blumenkopf for a year before separating in December 2012.
Hoda then began her relationship with Joel Schiffman in 2013, who worked for an investment firm in New York.
He had been married once before and already had an adult daughter when the couple got together.
The couple met through a twist of fate, as Hoda told the Huffington Post at the time: “I almost didn’t go out the night I met him.”
Because you know you don’t feel like it because it’s raining and it’s gross and why not just watch a rerun of Law & Order and stay home and eat chips? And I’m so glad I went out that night because it was a chance encounter that ended up being kind of an event that transformed my life.”
She later revealed to Wendy Williams that Joel managed to woo her at an event with a “group of Wall Street guys,” where she was the speaker.
The presenter said he then asked him to sign his copy of his book.
Hoda and Joel got engaged in November 2019, but sadly decided to split in early 2022.
In November 2019, she announced live on Today that they were engaged.
But on January 31, 2022, Hoda revealed on Today with Hoda & Jenna that she and Joel had decided to end their engagement and would focus on co-parenting as friends.
Hoda shares two adopted daughters with Joel: Haley Joy, eight, and Hope Catherine, five.
When he announced their split, he insisted there was no bad blood between them and said they were “better as friends and parents.”
“Joel and I have had a lot of prayer and meaningful conversations over the holidays and decided that we are better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple,” the talk show host said.
‘So we decided to start this new year on our new path as loving parents of our adorable and lovely children and as friends.
‘It’s not like anything happened. They say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason, a season or a lifetime, this was for a season.’
The couple remains friendly as parents and even spent Christmas together with their daughters and the rest of Hoda’s family in their new home in Bronxville, New York.
The couple remains friendly as parents and even spent Christmas together with their daughters and the rest of Hoda’s family in their new home in Bronxville, New York.
However, last summer, the children’s book author revealed more information about what led to their split during an appearance on The Jamie Kern Lina Show.
He called his ex “the best person” he knows, but said it still doesn’t always work out in a relationship.
“And I feel like I’m a great human being, but sometimes two great human beings together aren’t enough to make everything work,” he said at the time.
He added cryptically: “I think when people grow at two different rates, it’s hard to stay in sync.”
According to Kotb, the separation may have been for the best, as he hoped to one day find love again.
“When I close my eyes and imagine the romantic part of my life, I can see it very clearly,” she shared.
‘Because for the first time in my life it’s me. Someone is meeting me. “It’s not the version that you might want, or not the version that I’ll modify a little bit to suit your needs or what appeals to you,” he continued.
‘This is who I am, and I feel like once you get there, your heart rests. You say, “Oh, this is what it feels like.” So when I close my eyes and see it, I see it.’