For 17 years, millions of Americans have woken up in the morning with Hoda Kotb on their screens – but today she bids farewell to her loyal viewers.
After 26 years at NBC, the TV legend is stepping away to spend more time with her young daughters, Haley Joy, eight, and Hope Catherine, five.
Having celebrated her 60th birthday last year, the journalist realized she wanted to spend more time with her kids as she explained: ‘Obviously I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time.’
From her headline-making antics with Kathie Lee Gifford at the ‘news and booze desk,’ to her heartfelt moments with Jenna Bush Hager, Hoda has been staple in many people’s morning routine for almost two decades.
During her time on Today, the broadcast TV legend won the hearts of fans as she shared her many personal high and lows with the world, including her breast cancer battle – which saw her undergo a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery – to her advocacy for adoption.
She has also bravely shared her relationship highs and lows with Today show viewers – including her painful decision to call off her engagement in 2022, which she announced live on air.
Recently, a single Hoda revealed she’s dating again – and is even open to using dating apps – despite admitting she prefers to be set up by friends.
With a marriage and a broken engagement in her past, Hoda’s next relationship could be right around the corner. Here, FEMAIL looks back the beloved anchor’s bumpy relationship history…
For 17 years, millions of Americans have woken up in the morning with Hoda Kotb on their screens – but today she bids farewell to her loyal viewers
Burzis Kanga: The pair got married in 2005 but eventually split
Hoda first met former University of New Orleans tennis coach Burzis Kanga at a Valentine’s Day fundraiser for the American Heart Association.
The pair dated for several years before they officially tied the knot in Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic in 2005.
The small ceremony was performed in front of their immediate family.
The broadcast reporter was an anchor at local station WWL when they met, but had moved to New York City after joining NBC in 2008.
Speaking about the relationship in June 2006, Hoda told New Orleans Living Magazine: ‘We have been dating off and on for years. And of course, I had moved up to New York, but later we ended up connecting again. He proposed last May, and we married in December. And married life has been great!’
Hoda got married to former University of New Orleans tennis coach Burzis Kanga in 2005
She continued: ‘We love just kind of knocking around New York, doing some Broadway plays, going out to eat. There’s a neighborhood bar that we like that plays soul music. If I would have known it was this much fun, I probably would have done it a long time ago!’
She confessed to the outlet that it was ‘hard’ to acclimatize to the city.
Ultimately, their marriage ended in 2007 when Hoda filed for divorce. It was the very same month that the journalist was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Ultimately, their marriage ended in 2007 when Hoda filed for divorce
The divorce was finalized in 2008 and in an interview years later, Burzis told RadarOnline that living in NYC was a large factor in the split.
‘I was not used to the big city I guess,’ he explained. ‘New York can be overwhelming. I’ve lived in New Orleans for 30 years now. This is my home.’
He continued: ‘We had some differences. My father was ill. She was ill. It was a difficult time. Those were personal reasons for both of us.
‘The divorce happened under difficult conditions. Those were personal reasons for both of us. In hindsight, there was a level of immaturity on my part, mistakes I made.
He added: ‘It was unfortunate we were married for a short time. It’s a shame it transpired that way.
‘I will always cherish our memories. She is the epitome of class. I think the world of her. We had great memories together.’
Speaking about the split on Today in October 2023, Hoda noted: ‘I went through a divorce and breast cancer simultaneously, and I remembered in that time barely functioning, and I was thinking to myself, like, “Is this it? Is this how it goes?”
‘I was thinking about some of my lowest moments during that time what was contributing to all of it was I was in horrible health, and I didn’t care about that piece of it, and you don’t realize how bad it gets and then you’re compounding it, your health gets worse, because you’re not well, and [it] went on and on.’
Joel Schiffman: The couple got engaged and adopted two daughters together but never ended up tying the knot
Hoda was then in an eight-year relationship with New York financier Joel
Following her divorce, Hoda dated lawyer Jay Blumenkopf for a year before their split in December 2012.
Hoda then started her relationship with Joel Schiffman in 2013, who worked for an investment firm in New York.
He had been married once before and already had a grown-up daughter by the time the pair connected.
The couple met by a twist of fate as Hoda told the Huffington Post at the time: ‘I almost didn’t go out the night I met him.
‘Cause you know how you don’t feel like it because it’s raining and icky and why not just watch a Law & Order rerun and stay home and eat potato chips – and I’m so glad I went out that night because it was a chance meeting that ended up being kind of a life transforming event for me.’
She later revealed to Wendy Williams that Joel managed to woo her at an event with a ‘bunch of Wall Street guys,’ where she was the speaker.
The host said that afterwards, he asked her to sign his copy of her book.
Hoda and Joel got engaged in November 2019 but sadly they had decided to part ways by the beginning of 2022
In November 2019, she announced live on Today that they were engaged.
But on January 31, 2022, Hoda revealed on Today with Hoda & Jenna that she and Joel had decided to end their engagement and would focus on co-parenting as friends.
Hoda shares two adopted daughters with Joel – Haley Joy, eight, and Hope Catherine, five.
When she announced their split, she insisted there was no bad blood between them, saying they were ‘better as friends and parents.’
‘Joel and I have had a lot of prayer and meaningful conversations over the holidays and we decided that we are better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple,’ the talk show host said.
‘So we decided we are going to start this new year on our new path as loving parents to our adorably delightful children and as friends.
‘It’s not like something happened. They say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason, a season or a lifetime, this was for a season.’
The pair remain amicable co-parents and even spent Christmas together with their girls and the rest of Hoda’s family at her new home in Bronxville, New York.
The pair remain amicable co-parents and even spent Christmas together with their girls and the rest of Hoda’s family at her new home in Bronxville, New York
However, this past summer, the children’s book author revealed some more insight into what led to her split during an appearance on The Jamie Kern Lina Show.
She called her ex ‘the best person’ that she knows, but said that even so, it doesn’t always work out in a relationship.
‘And I feel like I’m a pretty great human being, but sometimes two great human beings together isn’t quite enough to make it work,’ she said at the time.
She cryptically added, ‘I think when people are growing at two different paces it’s hard to be in sync.’
According to Kotb, the split may have been for the best, as she was hopeful that she will one day find love again someday.
‘When I close my eyes and I envision the romantic part of my life, I can see it very clearly,’ she shared.
‘Because for the first time in my life I am me. Someone is meeting me. Not the version that you might want, or not the version that I’ll twist a little bit to fit your needs or what is appealing to you,’ she continued.
‘This is who I am, and I feel like once you get there your heart rests. You’re like, “Oh, this is what it feels like.” So when I close my eyes and see it, I see it.’
