Hoda Kotb Reveals Reason For Breakup From Fiancé Joel Schiffman

In a clip from the upcoming episode of The Jamie Kern Lima Show, Kotb shared that she and Schiffman, who called off their engagement in 2022 after eight years of dating, simply grew apart.

“Joel is one of the best people I know, and he really is a great human being,” the Today show anchor explained. “And I feel like I’m a pretty great human being, but sometimes two great human beings together isn’t quite enough to make it work.”

Kotb said the pair were “growing at different paces,” making it “hard to be in sync.”

“I think a lot of people are probably in these situations,” she continued. “One person’s growing … or one person wants it this way, and one person wants it that way.”

Despite going their separate ways, Kotb and Schiffman are very much in each other’s lives thanks to their daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4, who they adopted in 2017 and 2015, respectively.

“I have two incredible children I share with him,” Kotb said in a sit-down with People last month, crediting her ex for encouraging her to become a mother. “it’s because of Joel that I have Haley and Hope, without question. I think I might have been too afraid to do it alone.”

As for co-parenting, the pair have found their rhythm, as well, with Kotb previously telling the outlet, “He’ll have a Saturday, and I’ll do the Sunday. We switch each week. He’ll take the girls and do some fun things, and I’ll take some quiet time.”

She added, “It’s a healthy mix, and the kids love it.”