Hoda Kotb Reveals the Reason Why She and Ex Joel Schiffman Broke Up: ‘Growing at Different Paces’

Hoda Kotb shocked the world when she announced her split from Joel Schiffman during an episode of Today in January 2022. Now, she is opening up about what went wrong in their relationship.

“Joel is one of the best people I know, and he really is a great human being,” the broadcaster said in E! News‘ sneak peek of the Tuesday, August 13, episode of The Jamie Kern Lima Show. “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.”

Hoda, who turned 60 on August 9, explained that she and Joel, 66, were “growing at different paces.” It became hard for them to “be in sync.”

“I think a lot of people are probably in these situations,” the Hope Is a Rainbow author added. “One person’s growing … or one person wants it this way, and one person wants it that way.”

Hoda and Joel began dating in 2013 but did not go public with their romance until 2015. She revealed in 2016 that they had moved in together. Their world changed in 2017 when they adopted daughter Haley. The family expanded once more when they adopted daughter Hope in 2019. Hoda and Joel got engaged that same year.

Though she and Joel are no longer together, they have a great coparenting relationship for the sake of their girls.

“Sometimes relationships evolve. Sometimes perfectly nice people can go their separate ways. Sometimes a relationship ends on your last breath, and sometimes it ends before that, and that’s OK,” Hoda told People in August 2022, a few months after publicly revealing their breakup.

“I don’t regret one day, not one minute, not one second of our time together because it brought me here,” the mom of two added. “I have two incredible children I share with him. And 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. That’s not something I love to admit, but it’s true.”

Just recently, Hoda shared a detail about her relationship with her ex-fiancé that left Today cohost Jenna Bush Hager swooning.

“Joel said ‘I love you’ first,” Hoda said during a July 19 episode of the morning talk show. “I think I know what I feel, but I think you’re braver if you say it first. I think it shows that you can take a risk and you’re standing out there.”

“After he said it, [he said], ‘Don’t let me blow out here in the wind by myself, now.’ … And I said to him, I remember it, I said, ‘No. I just want to feel this for a second before I say something, before I respond.’ Because sometimes you’re so quick to respond, you don’t ever get to receive the thing,” she added.

Jenna replied, “Aw, it’s like a Hallmark movie.”

Joel was also on hand to help Hoda celebrate her 60th birthday with an at-home party last week. The financier was seen in photos from the festivities standing next to Hoda and their daughters.