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Hoda Kotb sparks frenzied speculation that she reunited with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman after gushing tribute
Hoda Kotb has ignited frenzied speculation that she has reunited with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman after she posted a sweet tribute to him on Father's Day.
In a heartfelt upload, the former Today show co-anchor, 60, heaped praise on the financier, with whom she shares adopted daughters Haley, nine, and Hope, five.
Taking to social media on Monday, Hoda uploaded two sweet photos, one of which saw the two little girls hugging dad Joel.
Another snap showed the dad-of-two walking hand in hand with on of their daughters while on a shopping trip.
'A great father's day for a great dad!' Hoda captioned her Instagram post. 'Happy father's day Joel!'
In the comments, some speculated whether Hoda and Joel might have rekindled their relationship.
'Are they back together?' asked one.
'He sure is a great dad!' another said. 'How I wish you were still with Joel!'
A third wrote: 'She is on and off with this guy.'
Others, however, praised the former couple for coparenting their kids harmoniously.
'Those two girls are blessed to have such loving and involved parents,' said one.
'Aww, love seeing Joel! Happy Father's Day!' another said.
'He's a great dad!' exclaimed a third. 'Wish you guys were still together.'
A fourth praised: 'You both are rocking this co-parenting gig.'
has reached out to Hoda for comment.
While Hoda and Joel are no longer in a romantic relationship, they continue to co-parent their two girls and are often together during holiday celebrations, such as Christmas Day and Thanksgiving.
New wellness guru Hoda was previously in an eight-year relationship with New York financier Joel, but the couple decided to part ways at the beginning of 2022.
They had begun their relationship in 2013 and in November 2019, Hoda announced live on Today that they were engaged.
In January 31, 2022, however, she revealed on Today with Hoda & Jenna that she and Joel had decided to end their engagement and would focus on co-parenting as friends.
'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 at the time.
'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.'
Last month, Hoda revealed her youngest daughter Hope has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, two years after she was rushed to hospital.
Returning to the Today show, she opened up about her daughter's diagnosis for the first time to Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin and explained that she's 'constantly monitoring' her child.
'Hope is fine for most of the day. There are just moments where you have to watch her,' she explained.
'I was totaling it up — five minutes at breakfast, five minutes at lunch, five minutes at dinner, sometimes overnight. Add that up, that's a half-hour. So, for 23 and a half hours, she's every other kid, so I try to remember that.'
While spending more time with her daughters was the main reason she left the Today show, Hope's condition 'definitely weighed in' on her exit.
'As anyone with a child who has Type 1 (knows), especially a little kid, you're constantly watching, you're constantly monitoring, you're constantly checking, which is what I did all the time when I was [at Today],' she said.
'You're distracted. You just get a priority check in your life.
'I can be here and sweating what's happening to Hope in the morning and in the night, or I can be there and feel relief that I can see.'
Hope's health issues began over two years ago. In February 2023, Hoda took two weeks off from the Today show due to a 'family health matter,' she shared at the time.
She later revealed that her youngest daughter had been hospitalized due to a sudden, unspecified illness.
Hope, who was four at the time, spent several days in the intensive care unit and a little over a week in the hospital.
Speaking to Savannah on the show at the time, Hoda said: 'My youngest Hope was in the ICU for a few days and then the hospital for a little more than a week.
'I'm so grateful she is home, she is back home. I was waiting for that day to come. And we are watching her closely. I'm just so happy.'
