Hoda Kotb & Fiancé Joel Schiffman’s Romance Secrets Exposed Amid Engagement News
Nov. 25 2019, Updated 2:13 p.m. ET
Hoda Kotb just got engaged to boyfriend Joel Schiffman after six years together, and as they prepare to walk down the aisle, RadarOnline.com is looking back at their low-profile relationship.
As readers know, Schiffman, 61, popped the question to Kotb, 55, earlier this month during a romantic vacation in Mexico. The Today star told her co-hosts this Monday, November 25, that they were enjoying a delicious dinner on the beach when the financier got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife. Of course, she said yes!
Kotb was wearing her massive diamond ring on this morning’s show and showed it off to her viewers and co-stars while recalling the proposal. In the end, she said that the only thing left to do now is to tell her and Schiffman’s two young daughters that their parents are finally getting married!
Kotb and Schiffman have been dating since 2013 and have two adopted girls together, Hope and Haley Joy.
Kotb told Wendy Williams about her and her man’s decision to become parents during an interview earlier this year.
"I always wanted to have a child, and I wondered if Joel did, too," Kotb explained. "I went to Joel and I said to him, 'I need to discuss something with you and it's really important,' and I said, 'And I want you to not answer me now. I want you to marinate, I want you to take a week ... take as long as you need.'"
She said Schiffman then told her “I don’t need a minute,” and that’s how they decided to adopt.
Prior to getting engaged, Kotb had discussed the possibility of marrying Schiffman one day, but admitted she was not as anxious as some would think.
"I have never teased a marriage," Hoda said during an interview with Entertainment Weekly in March 2018. "Joel will be with me the rest of my life, I have no doubt. He's an unbelievable father to Haley."
She also said during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on September 2018 that she and her baby daddy might end up being like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, who have been together for 35 years without getting married.
“I kind of like their vibe, don’t you think?” she told Cohen, adding “I love Joel. I mean, I’m going to be with Joel until my last breath — I know that.”
Wedding Bells
Kotb and ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman split after eight years together.
In 2018, RadarOnline.com exclusively reported Kotb and Schiffman were planning on eloping.
“Hoda doesn’t want a big, showy affairOpens in New Window,” the source revealed. “She loves the idea of taking off to some remote part of the world and swapping vows with just Joel and her adopted daughter, Haley, there!”
True Love
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The news was fitting with Kotb and Schiffman’s low-key romance.
Meant To Be
After rumors of their relationship in 2013, Kotb made an effort to keep her love’s identity a secret, even using the nickname “Boots” when referring to him and blurring out his face in photos.
Still, snaps of them were soon exposed, and the Today star admitted on the show that she was truly in love, and her man wasn’t too bothered by his new life in the spotlight.
So Sweet
In 2015, the love birds were caught looking happy during a beach getaway in Miami. Now, it seems they take a yearly vacation together.
Moving On
Kotb was married once before, to Burzis Kanga, a tennis coach, from 2005 until 2008. She filed for divorce around the time of her cancer diagnosis. In January 2018 Kanga told RadarOnline.com he hadn’t been in touch with Kotb since their shocking split — which allegedly caught him off guard — but he still wished her the best and had fond memories of their marriage.
“She was my soul mate,” he said. “She was my best friend. She was someone very special to me. I have no intentions of getting remarried again.”
Despite Kanga’s sentiments towards Kotb, the TV co-anchor moved on with Schiffman after their divorce and started a new family! As fans know, she often gushed about her man on social media and shares photos of them with their kids.
“Every minute is precious,” she captioned a photo of Schiffman holding Haley’s hand at the beach this August.