Staying at home isn't easy, but it's essential to help keep us safe. That said, there are a lot of complications that come with staying at home. If you have kids and live in a small apartment, it can be hard to deal with. And if you don't live with your parents, it can be really tough to adjust to not seeing them every day. Even though Today show host Hoda Kotb has a family of her own, she admitted that being away from her mother has been the hardest part of her experience with social distancing. She's missing her mom and trying hard to keep it together.
"I was just thinking about the people who are all by themselves," Hoda said on Today with Hoda and Jenna. "I’ve got to tell you, my mom is staying so positive. She’s by herself at home, but she’s like, ‘Hey, look, I’m outside at the water!’"
While Hoda's mom is staying safe and keeping to herself, it's still a strange situation that Hoda probably never thought would be a reality. "She’s by herself taking selfies, and there’s nobody around her," she said. "She talks about how beautiful the water is. She says she brings her coffee with her in the mug I gave her, and she’ll take a picture of it."
If anything, Hoda's lovely mom should be an inspiration. She's proving that anyone can make the most of this strange time we're in. Sure, it may be hard to be optimistic. But still, it's a rewarding trait to stay positive.
Hoda Kotb is 55 years old and the loving mom to two daughters by adoption — Haley Joy and Hope Catherine. Hope was adopted just in 2019. Hoda shares the parenting journey with fiancé Joel Schiffman, whom she started quietly dating back in 2013. It's been a very productive few years for Hoda.
Hoda is also in love with the idea of being a mother. "One night, I laid [Haley] down in the bed and she looked at me," she said to Know Your Value. "And for some reason, I was staring at her. Eye lock. A tear came down, and I remember Haley touching it and saying ‘it’s wet.’ And she looked at me like she was trying to heal me. I don’t know what’s purer in love than this."
So it's apparent that Hoda knows the strong bond between mother and daughter quite well. Which is yet another reason why she's missing her mom so much. While the two of them have been FaceTiming, it's not the same. Prior to being quarantined, they used to see each other in person at least once a month.
"For my mom, we try to FaceTime," she said on her show. "Haley can take the phone and go running down the hall, and my mom’s just tickled pink. She’s just happy to have her like that." At least this lockdown isn't separating Haley from her grandmother too much — and it's teaching Haley more about technology in the meantime.
Hoda's shout-out on television to her mother was very sweet — and incredibly relatable. "If you’re one of those people who called your parents, like, once every two weeks or visited every six months, I think we kind of understand (now) what it felt like to be them — to be by yourself and not to have people checking in and visiting and calling all the time," she admitted.
Hoda's mom also has the ability to watch her on television. In fact, she was inspired by an interview that Hoda did with gymnast Simone Biles, who's also having a hard time adjusting to the stay-at-home orders. Simone mentioned that her parents were leaving home-cooked meals in her driveway, which inspired Hoda's own mother.
"My mom just wrote me a text," Hoda said on air. "It's so funny. She goes, 'I was watching Simone and what a great idea. I think I'm going to do that for Hannah and Ella. I'll make them a meal, and I'll leave it on the corner.'" If anything, it may give moms everywhere a meaningful and comforting project.
Much like her daughter Hoda, Sameha Kotb — known best as Sami — is also an inspirational woman. Sami works at the Library of Congress. She's also been incredibly excited over her daughter's future wedding plans. According to Hoda, it's Sami who plans all of her best on-air outfits.
"If I'm wearing a good outfit, she picked it," Hoda admitted on Today. And that's why her mom is also in the midst of choosing her wedding dress. “It was so funny because she’s picked everything for me, and she said, ‘Honey, I don’t know. Do you want me to pick your wedding dress?’ And I said, ‘Well, you picked the first one, so yes, please pick the second one,’” Hoda revealed to E! News. “But this one … it’s gonna be fun. So my mom’s in charge, and I’m so happy.”
Who knows? Maybe Hoda will help pick out Haley's and Hope's wedding dresses someday, if they choose to get married. She's got a long way to go, but it might turn into a very sweet Kotb family tradition. That is, if Hoda has the same eye for fashion that Sami does.
Hoda was planning on getting married in the fall. It's unclear as to whether or not the wedding will be pushed back based on the current events of 2020. But even if it is, it seems like the host will have no problem rescheduling things. Plans for her wedding have seemed loose, casual, and simple.
“I think we’re going to do it in the fall,” Hoda said to Ellen DeGeneres. "I think it’s going to be super simple, like no big deal. We’ll bring some friends. We’ll probably be on a beach somewhere." She's not planning on having coordinated bridesmaids or making it a big event. "All I want it to be is fun and happy and everybody to feel easy breezy," she told People magazine.
This will be Hoda's second marriage. In 2005, Hoda accepted a proposal from her now ex-husband Burzis Kanga. The two were married for only two years, but it seems like they had a bitter split. Burzis blamed this on illness and has said that he still thinks quite highly of his ex. But Hoda seems to be much happier with her current partner.
And it seems like Sami approves of him, too. No matter when Hoda's wedding is, it'll be very sweet for her to have Sami by her side. It's a shame that the two of them aren't able to see each other in person these days, but their eventual reunion is going to be incredibly sweet once it happens.
