Hoda Kotb wants to put herself out there for love: 'You live once'
Hoda Kotb hopes her new chapter of life includes a love story.
The journalist exited "Today" and "Today with Hoda & Jenna" in January to spend more time with daughters Haley Joy, 8, and Hope Catherine, 6, and pursue her dream of starting a wellness company. And she's still looking for "the real thing" when it comes to a relationship.
"I was insatiable in trying to find things that would help or enhance me and make me feel better and make my friends feel better, make everyone feel better," she says. "And I was thinking I couldn't find it in one spot, and no matter where I looked, I was only puzzle piecing it together."
So Kotb, 60, launched Joy 101 on May 28.
Curated by Kotb, the app offers subscribers programs tailored to their interests and research-backed classes and wellness sessions focused on topics like brain health, breathwork, mindfulness, personal growth and sleep.
In her own life, Kotb is looking to improve her ability to show up as her authentic self in a romantic relationship. Kotb previously wed Burzis Kanga in 2005 but filed for divorce in 2007. She shares her daughters with former fiancé Joel Schiffman. Kotb announced they'd called off their engagement in 2022.
Hoda Kotb reveals daughter's health condition was a factor in decision to leave 'Today'
"I've had wonderful relationships in my life," she says, careful not to dimmish past experiences. "They've been very loving relationships, but I don't think the real thing yet.
"I think it's really funny to think at this stage in life, to still be cautious and to try to figure out why trust is so hard,' she says. "If I were advising myself, I would say, 'What the hell do you have to lose? You live once. Go, do it, do it.' And then when it's me, I realize that I've always been cautious there."
"If I'm really honest with myself, I think that's another thing that I am really, really, really looking forward to and can clearly visualize," she says of finding love again. "And I hope one day that I actually get to really feel it for real instead of imagining what it would feel like."
When making the leap from "Today," Kotb imagined how her life would look, living in the suburbs and being able to me more present with her daughters. The reality is so much better than she anticipated.
"I don't think I was really seeing my kids grow," Kotb says. Instead of heading into the studio in the wee hours of the morning, she heads to her office to tend to a few tasks before working out, returning home and showering before her children wake up for school.
Hoda Kotb's favorite question is 'tell me more.' Now she shares what's next.
"So I get to," she says, emphasizing how much she likes the phrase "get to," "I get to be with them in the morning, I get to be with them at breakfast, I get to walk them to school and like all the good stuff comes out then.
"I was playing a game with my daughter last night and in the middle of it she just started, like spilling all of her secrets," Kotb says. "I had all the time in the world, and that's when magic happens."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hoda Kotb 'Today' show exit opens the door to finding love
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