Hoda Kotb's 2 Children: Meet Haley Joy and Hope Catherine
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- UPDATED SEPTEMBER 02, 2024
by Tasha Mayberry
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Hoda Kotb is a proud mom of two. The Today show co-anchor welcomed her first daughter, Haley Joy, through adoption in 2017. Kotb, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and left unable to conceive, shared her joy at becoming a mother. Her family expanded again in 2019 when she adopted her second daughter, Hope Catherine. “I tell them they were adopted, but I’m not sure if they fully grasp what that means,” Kotb shared on the Me Becoming Mom podcast in 2021. “I always tell them, ‘You didn’t come from Mommy’s tummy, you came from my heart.’ And they understand that.” Kotb shares her daughters, Haley and Hope, with her ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman. (The couple ended their engagement in early 2022.) “I have two incredible children that I share with him, and it’s because of Joel that I have Haley and Hope, without a doubt. I think I might have been too scared to do it on my own,” she confessed.
Haley Joy Kotb, 7
Haley, Kotb’s older daughter, was born on February 14, 2017. While Kotb wasn’t present at her birth, she vividly recalls the moment she learned about Haley from the adoption agency. “I remember it like it was yesterday,” she shared on a June 2023 episode of the Just B with Bethenny Frankel podcast. Kotb recounted how she was on a call when she received a text from her contact, Ashley, at the agency. “I saw her name, hung up the phone, grabbed a yellow pad, and wrote, ’11:55. This is the moment everything changes,’ I just knew it,” she recalled. “I took a deep breath, dialed the number, and when I heard Ashley say, ‘She’s here,’ I was overwhelmed. I don’t know what giving birth feels like, and I bet it’s amazing, but this was pretty close.
Hope Catherine Kotb, 4
In April 2019, Kotb joyfully announced the adoption of her second daughter, Hope Catherine. Reflecting on the decision, she shared in an interview with, “When I talked to [Joel] about adopting again, I said, ‘I really think Haley should have a sibling… someone to go through life with. It’s a long life, and I want her to have someone to say, ‘That’s my brother, that’s my sister.'” Kotb recalled how Schiffman responded with, “What took you so long?” She applied to adopt again just nine months after welcoming Haley.
Joel and I were both there when they handed us the baby, and it felt like the closest thing to a live birth. In that moment, I thought, ‘Oh my God, my heart just grew,'” Kotb shared with her Today co-hosts after announcing Hope’s arrival. “It’s incredible. I still can’t believe it’s real.” Kotb and Schiffman had already chosen the name Hope before she was born. “The name represents the hope that so many women have that their day will come too, and I know what it feels like to wait for that day,” Kotb explained on Today. Hope’s middle name, Catherine, is a tribute to Kotb’s best friend’s daughter, who shares the name.
Hoda Kotb Said She and Joel Schiffman Felt Married Before Split, Called Him Her 'Lifelong Partner'
Before their split, Hoda Kotb often referred to Joel Schiffman as her “lifelong partner.” The couple, who began dating in 2013 and share daughters Hope and Haley, got engaged in November 2019. However, during a recent episode of TODAY, Kotb announced that they had decided to go their separate ways. The pair had postponed their wedding multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview shortly after the pandemic began, Kotb shared with that although they were unsure when the wedding would take place, they already felt married.
