Earlier this year, Today co-anchor Hoda Kotb shared that she ventured back into the dating world following an eight-year-long relationship.
Her eight-year relationship led to her getting engaged, but things never progressed to actual wedding bells.
In 2022, Hoda and Joel Schiffman called off the engagement.
Two years later, the Today star revealed she had gone on her first date since that split.
With Hoda revealing that she was dating again, she also spoke about her struggles.
That included sharing what previously used to have her “so worried” about the other person’s perception of her.
Hoda reflected on how her mindset has changed with dating over the years
Thursday’s episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna on NBC featured a brief discussion about finding the right romantic partner.
Jenna said she’d met Henry Hager in her 20s and was lucky to have found the right guy for her. They’ve been together since 2008, so there’s no worry for her about going on dates with anyone besides her husband.
Meanwhile, Hoda indicated that her perspective has changed about worrying about what the individual she’s dating thinks about her.
She shared, “One of the things I used to want when I met someone was, ‘Does he like me? I hope he likes me,’ rather than ‘This is who I am.'”
Hoda mentioned it’s possible to be the “juiciest orange in the bunch” but that “some people don’t like oranges.”
“I was so worried about fitting into his life. I would think, ‘This is his ideal, I can be that. I will be that.’ Not, ‘Do I want him?'” she told her co-host.
It was a significant revelation for the Today star, who had two serious relationships in the past 20 years. Those previous relationships ended in divorce or with a called-off engagement.
Hoda revealed she had her first date in two years
Hoda’s recent remarks on her NBC show with Jenna arrived after actress and singer Kate Hudson revealed she’d taken a year off from dating. According to Hudson, that was at her therapist’s recommendation to stop negative dating “patterns.”
Hoda decided to double the amount of time before she returned to dating.
During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show in March, she announced the big news after talking about her “Thankful Thursday” tradition.
“Something did happen the other day that hasn’t happened in two years…I had a date! I had a date!” Hoda shared with excitement.
She didn’t spill any additional details about who that date was with, referring to it as “just a date. It was nothing but a date.”
“Do you ever think about going on a date?” Hoda asked Clarkson while on her show.
“Not at all. Not even a tiny bit. I am really loving not having a man in my life,” the host admitted.
Before dating Schiffman for eight years, Hoda was married for three years. She married former University of New Orleans tennis coach Burzis Kanga in 2005 and divorced in 2008.
Her relationship with Schiffman, a New York financier started in 2013. As mentioned, they became engaged in 2019.
In January 2022, she revealed their split on NBC’s Today, saying after “meaningful conversations” they “realized [they were] better as friends and parents than as an engaged couple.”
They remain friends and co-parent the two daughters Hoda adopted in 2017 and 2019: Haley Joey and Hope Catherine Kotb.
And even though Hoda called her first date in two years “just a date,” it seemed like a courageous first step toward potentially finding love again.