Hoda Kotb is hoping to find love again as she enters a new decade of her life.
“The romance is so clear. It’s so obvious. You just know it’s meant to be,” the beloved Today co-host, who turned 60 on August 9, told Page Six in an exclusive interview.
“I thought 50 was great, but 60 might be the limit. Right now it feels like a season of replanting and growing. It feels like my roots are up in the air, and then I land in this rich soil and I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s still room to grow.'”
Kotb’s rekindled romantic passion comes a few years after her split from investor Joel Schiffman. The journalist and her ex-fiancé, who have two children together, split in 2022 after eight years together.
“Recently, I was talking about relationships and life, and a friend asked me, ‘What do you have room for?'” Kotb said, discussing the milestone birthday. “And that’s a really important question, because my life is really busy.”
But Kotb, who is mother to Hope, seven, and Hailey, five, admitted she’s “not scared” about the future of her love life because she knows romance “will happen” in the future.
“It’s like saying, ‘Let’s take something into this rich and full life, right now,’ and that’s what I want right now,” she continued. “As life goes on and the kids get settled, there’ll be more room, but right now it’s the little things that I want and I can see them coming true… I know they’ll come true.”
Meanwhile, Kotb is focused on spending as much time as possible with her two young daughters as she prepares to move and get them ready to start school at a new institution this fall.
The family went through a terrifying experience last year when Hope was hospitalized and spent more than a week in the ICU.
Kotb has yet to share details about her daughter’s health scare, but she said Hope is “doing fine” for now.
“It’s just something you have to manage every day,” she added of the undisclosed diagnosis. “It’s a reality.”
Kotb spoke to Page Six about her milestone birthday celebrations, which included an intimate party with family and friends over the weekend.
She also received a special on-air callout from co-host Savannah Guthrie during Monday’s live broadcast of “Today.”
Kotb’s daughters stopped by the studio and seemed thrilled to watch a video of their mom, which was shot to celebrate her special day, and which also featured performances by Little Big Town and Sugarland.
Elsewhere in her interview with Page Six, Kotb recalled a conversation she had with Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The news anchor got emotional as the gymnastics legend admitted that she was most grateful to be adopted during the heartwarming interview.
“You’re someone who dreamed of being a gymnast and here you are today,” Kotb told Biles, 27, last week. “So if I had to answer this question, it would be, ‘If it weren’t for Blank, I wouldn’t be here today.’ If it weren’t for Blank… who would that person be?”
“Without my parents and without adoption, I wouldn’t be here today,” said Biles, who was adopted by his grandfather Ronald and his wife, Nellie.
Kotb, who adopted two of her own daughters, told Us she was “unaware” of the emotional response from the “Dancing with the Stars” alum.
“It was such a beautiful tribute to her parents and a reminder that no matter what, her children are hers,” she said. “She emphasized that she would not have had this family without adoption. I felt this very deeply. I hope that my children understand how loved they are and that they chose me.”
Guthrie, 52, chimed in about how special the interview was, telling Page Six, “Hoda and Simone have a very special bond. Not just anyone can get that interview.”
The “Today” personality also gushed about how impressed she was with Kotb’s work ethic and “passion” for life. The two became co-hosts after host Matt Lauer’s abrupt departure in 2017 following allegations of sexual misconduct.
“Hoda has taught me that everything we’re told about getting older or turning 50 is a lie. She’s always learning, always growing,” she said. “I’m so grateful to have her in my life and to have her as a mom to Hailey and Hope.”
