It seems like only yesterday that Today host Hoda Kotb announced that she was adopting a baby girl, whom she named Haley Joy. The arrival was incredibly sweet, and Haley immediately warmed the hearts of all of Hoda's co-workers.
In 2019, Hoda added to her family by adopting another little girl, Hope Catherine. Hope turned 1 this year, and — like many of us — celebrated with a Zoom party. But in Hoda's mind, there may be room for another baby in the family she's created with fiancé Joel Schiffman. Supposedly, she's heavily considering a third.
"[We] have had many conversations about it," she revealed to People. "Can we? Yes. Will our family be better with it? Yes. Do we have enough love in the house? Yes. All the answers seem to say yes. So I think then you just wait and see if it's meant to be."
There may be a few reasons to wait for now. For one, this year has brought all of us a hefty amount of turmoil. But if there's anyone who will make sure an adoption is safe and secure, it's Hoda. She's already had to put one thing aside this year — her wedding.
Hoda and Joel were together for six years before he proposed. Joel reportedly proposed while the two were in Mexico on vacation. It happened while they were eating a meal together, and Hoda was surprised. "I was totally shocked … he had a good poker face," she told her Today family, per O, The Oprah Magazine. "My heart has literally been pounding."
She also joked that it'd be awkward to tell the girls. "How am I going to explain [to the girls] your parents are going to get married? We're still trying to figure out that part," she said. She's the perfect example of finding happiness and building a family later in life. So many of her fans have been happy over how the pieces have fallen into place for her in the last few years.
"If someone had said to me when I was a little girl, 'Hey Hoda, guess what your life is going to be like: When you're 49 or 50, you're going to meet the guy you're going to fall in love with, and you're going to have children at 55 and 56,' I would have been like, 'What?' It just shows you, the perfect life for you, and this is for me, is exactly as it comes," she said. Happiness can come at any age.
Joel and Hoda met up in an unlikely place. It was an event that she wasn't all that happy to attend. But she was set to speak. "It was pouring rain," she told Andy Cohen. "It was a bunch of Wall Street guys. I had to give a speech. They were bored …" But later, Joel connected with her as she was giving out autographs.
It's a good reminder that you never know when you're life's about to change. Joel has been Hoda's loyal partner ever since. Joel had a child before meeting Hoda, but was open to the idea of adoption ever since Hoda brought it up with him — even though Hoda initially thought he might need more time to think about it.
"You know what's funny?" Hoda said. "You think that you're full. That's exactly how I felt with Haley and Joel and everything. Joel and I were standing there when they hand you the baby, and it's the closest thing to a live birth you'll ever see, but in that moment I was like, 'Oh my God, my heart just grew.'" Prior to choosing adoption, Hoda publicly battled infertility.
"One of the things in my life I've always wanted was to be a mom," she told People shortly after Haley's adoption. "Sometimes in your life, things just don't work out for whatever reason, so you say, 'Well, I wasn't meant to have that.' But it was really hard to come to terms with it." Instead, she focused on her career.
"Hoda is such a grateful person," her friend Kathie Lee Gifford said. "She's not a whiner or complainer, so she rejoiced in the blessings she had, and she loved being an aunt and found great joy in that. It seemed like that was enough for her. She never let on that it was something missing in her life."
She enjoys kids so much that she even thought about changing careers. When she chose adoption, the hole had been filled for her.
"I guess if you've been waiting this long for something, and you wish for it, pray for it, hope for it, wonder if it will ever be, and then it happens, nothing's more real," she said. "Nothing."
So, it makes sense that she'd be open to a third child. She's built such a loving household that any child would be lucky to join big sisters Haley and Hope. But it's possible that first, she's waiting to get married in front of her friends and family. And of course, Haley and Hope would be part of the ceremony.
Hoda is inspirational for many women. She's always worked hard, and seems to really enjoy life, even when life happens to deal her a bad hand. Back in 2007, she had breast cancer — but mostly kept it a secret from the people around her, as well as her fans.
"The breast cancer I had required an extensive eight hour surgery, which included a mastectomy and reconstruction," she wrote in a piece for Today. "I had a hip-to-hip incision as well as more incisions on my chest. Let me tell you: it looks like a roadmap."
"Even though I now consider myself about 90 percent, as far as feeling emotionally and physically recovered and body confident, I am not at 100 percent," she added. "Don't get me wrong: I am very grateful for everything I have. I am fortunate to have had great doctors and to know that I am 6 years cancer free. I am happy about that. But I still pull and tug on things I wear, like bathing suits or when I'm wearing gym clothes. The actual scars are there… that's forever a part of me." The diagnosis also added to her difficulty with fertility.
She's since proven that strong women are capable of moving on and not letting the roadblocks get in their way. She's proof that motherhood can come at any age. And, she's made it pretty clear that even cancer won't stop her from her dreams. For people who might think it's too late, they should look at Hoda for inspiration.
While adoption can often be strenuous, expensive, and very emotional for multiple parties, Hoda has proven that sometimes, it's the best option to grow your family. If Hoda and Joel decide to go forward with a third child, that kid will be loved and supported from day one. And, her fans will make sure to check out every picture and watch every milestone that Hoda shares.
