Hoda Kotb opened up about her love life in a funny and revealing segment on Today with Hoda & Jenna, sharing how her own mom used to go to wild lengths to find her a man. The conversation started when Hoda and Jenna Bush Hager discussed how Lady Gaga’s mother helped set her up with her fiancé Michael Polansky. That reminded Hoda of her mom, Sameha, who she said was always trying to play matchmaker for her and her brother, Adel.
Hoda recalled one time her mom came home after buying shoes and excitedly announced, “I found her!” to her brother, insisting the girl who worked at Foot Locker was perfect for him and urging him to go meet her. But her mom didn’t stop at store employees. Hoda then revealed that Sameha once met a random man on a train, got his phone number, and brought it home for Hoda, telling her, “I found him!”
Jenna asked the obvious question: did Hoda actually call this stranger? Hoda laughed and admitted she did, saying she’s an optimist—and also felt she had to honor the effort her mother made to get a stranger’s number on public transport.
That led Jenna to confess that she loves setting people up too and worries she’ll end up doing the same thing to her own kids, especially her daughter Mila. Hoda immediately warned her against it, saying kids will always reject their parents’ setups, no matter how good the match might be. Hoda teased that Jenna is actually very good at matchmaking, hinting she may already have tried to set Hoda up in the past.
The segment came shortly after Hoda spoke more deeply about her romantic future following her 2022 split from ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman. In a recent interview on The Jamie Kern Lima Show, Hoda said she feels more confident than ever that she’ll find the right partner—because, for the first time in her life, she is fully herself.
She explained that in past relationships she sometimes “twisted” herself to fit what others wanted. Now, she says, she’s done with that. When she imagines her future partner, she doesn’t picture a specific look—she doesn’t care if he’s tall, short, bald, or anything else—but instead feels the essence and “soul” of the person.
Hoda said her heart feels “at rest” in this new phase of life, and she trusts that the right relationship will arrive in its own time, just like many of the best things in her life have. For now, she’s content being herself, laughing about her mom’s enthusiastic meddling—and very sure that if anyone’s going to be setting her up next, it definitely won’t be her kids.
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