It’s the end of the line for Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman.
Hoda Kotb says she and fiance are better as friends
The television personality and her longtime companion have called it quits after nearly a decade together.
Hoda first announced the shocking news on the Today Show with Hoda and Jenna this morning as she sat next to co-host and friend Jenna Bush Hager.
“So I wanted to address something I think a few of you maybe noticed,” Hoda said.
“…People have written in and asked why I wasn’t wearing my engagement ring,” she continued. “…Joel and I have had a lot of prayerful and, like, really meaningful conversations over the holidays and we decided that we’re better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple.”
Hoda’s engagement ring cost around $250,000
The split came as a surprise to fans given the length of the couple’s time together and the whopping ring Joel gave to Hoda when he asked her to marry him in 2019.
Sparing no expense, Joel gave his partner a stunning diamond ring embellished with smaller diamonds and sapphires and Hoda was unable to contain her excitement at the time, sharing a glimpse of the giant ring with viewers on the Today Show.
Hoda joked with People at the time in an exclusive interview that the ring “looks like a stop sign” with its square shape and blue outline.
She also told the magazine that she was “touched” that Joel had clearly put a lot of thought into the ring’s design, consulting with Hoda’s friend Jennifer Miller about what the TV host would like best.
“What touched me so much about this ring is that he thought about it and he thought about what I might like,” Hoda shared.
Joel reportedly proposed on the beach during a romantic vacation getaway, getting down on one knee after the pair shared dinner together by the ocean.
Hoda and Joel share two adopted children together, daughters Hayley Joy and Hope Catherine, and had started planning their wedding before the pandemic delayed the event.
The co-anchor assured viewers that the split was not contentious and had no base in any particular issues.
“It’s not like something happened,” she said. “You know, they say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason, for a season, for a lifetime and I feel like ours was meant to be there for a season.”