Hoda Kotb hints at why she broke up with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman

Hoda Kotb may be ready to move on, but she’s still looking back on her previous romance with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman.

The “Today” co-host explained that her and Schiffman’s relationship just didn’t work out during Tuesday’s episode of “The Jamie Kern Lima Show,” adding that it’s a situation “a lot of people are probably in.”

“A person grows up … or a person wants this and a person wants that,” Kotb described.

Kotb added that her ex — who she split from in 2022 after eight years together — is “one of the best people I know.”

“He really is a great human being,” she said. “And I feel like I’m a pretty great human being, but sometimes two great human beings together isn’t enough to make it work. I’m a great human being, but sometimes two great human beings together isn’t enough to make it work.”

Kotb shares two adopted children with the financier, daughters Hayley Joy, 7, and Hope Catherine, 4. She and Schiffman started dating in 2013 and got engaged in 2019.

At the time of their split, the ‘I Really Need This Today’ author said they decided they were ‘better as friends and parents’.

“Joel and I had a lot of prayerful and really meaningful conversations over the holidays and decided that we are better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple,” she said at the time.

Kotb’s remarks on the podcast came shortly after she revealed her future romantic plans to Page Six after turning 60 earlier this month.

“I can clearly see the romance, I just can. That’s how you know something is meant to be,” she told us, adding that she feels like 60 is her year.

“I feel like this is the season of repotting and growth. There’s this feeling that the roots are up in the air, but then you land in this rich soil and you’re like, “Oh, more room to grow.”

Kotb echoed a similar sentiment in her conversation with Lima, revealing that while she may not have room for an all-consuming relationship yet due to her “busy” life, she does have time for “a Friday night.”