Hoda Kotb is stepping confidently into a new chapter, and her friends are enjoying every moment of it.
During the November 25 episode of TODAY With Jenna & Friends, the 61-year-old anchor surprised Jenna Bush Hager on set — only for the reunion to turn humorous when Andy Cohen shifted the conversation to Hoda’s single life.
Hoda, who has been embracing more independence since her split from Joel Schiffman, told Jenna and Andy that she’s been opening up her home in ways she didn’t expect.
“This is at my house! I’m having people over! I’m hosting parties!” she said, laughing at her own enthusiasm.
Andy quickly seized the moment. “Are you hosting gentleman callers?” he asked, leaving Hoda stunned. Jenna jumped in with, “I’m sure there are,” while Andy continued with a mock scenario: “Knock knock… Uncle Tony’s here. Hope, go make Uncle Tony that drink he likes. Extra olives!”
When the joking eased, Hoda asked Andy how he handles dating as a single parent. He admitted he isn’t out much — something Hoda related to.
“It’s hard. It’s confusing, and it’s hard… but you find a way,” she said. “I have gone out a little bit. Not on dates yet.”
Andy playfully suggested she try sliding into DMs “with a little flame emoji,” and Jenna was all for it, asking, “Is there anybody we should DM right now?”
Hoda has been candid about rebuilding her life since ending her engagement to Schiffman in 2022. “We decided that we are better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple,” she said at the time.
Before that, she was married to Burzis Kanga, a union she once described as something she “slipped into.”
Now, Hoda is focusing on her home, her daughters, and — perhaps eventually — those “gentleman callers” her friends keep teasing about.
