Hoda Kotb announced some sad news on Today this morning.
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The television host is parting ways with her long term partner, Joel Schiffman. The couple has been together for eight years, and got engaged in November of 2019.
They share two daughters, Haley, four, and Hope, two. Hoda, 57, and Joel, 63, were first seen in public in 2015.
WATCH: Hoda Kotb opens up about decision to split from Joel Schiffman
In an emotional statement Monday morning, Hoda said: "Joel and I have had a lot of prayerful and really meaningful conversations over the holidays, and we decided that we're better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple," she told her co-host Jenna Bush Hager.
"We decided that we are going to start this new year and begin it kind of on our new path as loving parents to our adorable, delightful children, and as friends," she said.
Hoda had previosuly expressed on Today that the financier made her feel young and in love, and admitted she didn’t expect to feel butterflies at her age, but she did.
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"It's one of the most natural relationships I’ve ever been in," Hoda told People in 2015.
The pair met at a Wall Street event. The NBC star was due to go and sign books at an event for professionals in 2013, and "didn't want to go."
Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman will remain friends and co-parent their daughters
Recounting the story of how she met Joel during an appearance on Bethenny, Hoda said: "This guy walks up and he's like, 'I'll take a book.' And I was like, 'Who do you want me to write it to – your girlfriend, your wife, your aunt?' And he goes, 'Write it to me.'"
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Hoda and Joel kept their relationship under wraps for two years before appearing publicly as a couple.
Before breaking up, they had to postpone their wedding several times due to COVID-19 complications, of which Hoda just recently recovered.
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