Hoda Kotb has shared a rare comment about her ex-fiancé, Joel Schiffman, who she dated for nearly 10 years.
The 59-year-old talk show host shared her candid thoughts about dating during an episode of her show,Today with Hoda & Jenna, which aired on 21 March. During her conversation with co-host Jenner Bush Hager, Kotb describe the importance of respect in a relationship, before mentioning her ex and the sweet thing he’d do while they were together.
“I’ve only been with people who are super polite,” she said. “Like, when I get up from the table, for instance, Joel got up every time, every time, even if it’s normal dinner.”
Bush Hager also pointed out that Kotb may have seen this kind behaviour in her parents’ relationship. In response, Kotb agreed and acknowledged that she “expects” her partner to treat her in a similar way that her father treated her mother.
“Yes, it’s what you deserve, what you feel like, ‘Oh yeah, I deserve that.’ But I do think it also shows like, when your kids are watching, ‘Oh, that’s how two people treat one another.’ Not like, ‘Get me this,’” she said.
When discussing how couples often wear each other’s clothes, later on in the episode, Kotb once again mentioned a moment with her ex when she accidentally wore his shoes.
“The only thing I ever did was, Joel and I had the exact same pairs of sneakers, except for different sizes. I assumed, and when I put on his sneaker and it fit, he was like: ‘Where are my sneakers?’ I go: ‘I don’t know,’ he goes: ‘They were right here!’” she recalled during the episode, as reported byPage Six.
Kotb then described how she felt when she realised that Schiffman’s shoes fit her, adding: “I go: ‘Those are your sneakers?!’ He goes: ‘Yeah,’ I was like: ‘Oh my God, that is sad!’”
In January 2022, Kotb first announced that she and Schiffmam had split after eight years together. “Joel and I have had a lot of prayerful and really meaningful conversations over the holidays, and we decided that we’re better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple,” she told Bush Hager on their segment Today with Hoda & Jenna.
“So we decided that we are going to start this new year and begin it kind of on our new path as loving parents to our adorable, delightful children, and as friends,” Kotb added.
Kotb and Schiffman had been together since 2013, before getting engaged in November 2019. The former couple share two adopted daughters, Haley, six, and Hope, four.
During the 2022 episode of Today, Kotb noted that there wasn’t necessarily a specific reason for the split. “It’s not like something happened,” she added. “They say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason or a season or for a lifetime. And I feel like ours was meant to be there for a season.”
Since then, the TV host has shared her feelings about re-entering the dating scene. During an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show earlier this month, she revealed that she’d recently gone on her first date in two years.
Days later, she told Entertainment Tonight that she met the person she went on that date with through Bush Hager. She also revealed that she had plans to go on a third date with this person.
“I had a great time… I had a great time on our date. I loved it,” she explained. “There has been a second one already. Hey, that’s how it goes… We’ll have our third coming up. It’s really fun.”
