Hoda Kotb felt a love and joy like never before when she and her now ex-fiancé, Joel Schiffman, welcomed their first daughter together, Haley Joy, now 6, in 2017, via adoption. She named her Haley after the famous comet, for its once-in-a-lifetime nature.
The host's joy doubled when she adopted Haley's little sister, Hope Catherine, now 4, two years later, and the inspiration for the name came from her sister; the tot was all Hoda had been hoping for.
And she hasn't shied away from sharing her hopes of maybe expanding that joy with a third baby.
Though she and Joel split up at the beginning of 2022, it doesn't seem like the breakup closed the door on the possibility of a little sibling for Haley and Hope.
Later in 2022, Hoda, 59, opened up to People about still being in the process of potentially adopting a third baby, though those plans had been momentarily delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Still, she maintained: "It's definitely in the universe for me," adding: "I feel like whatever is meant to be is meant to be. But I know a few things. I have love and time, and we have an open space."
The star adopted her first baby, Haley, in 2017
The TV news veteran hasn't given a more definite update since, but amid an ongoing absence from the Today Show earlier this year a cryptic – yet hopeful – messages on Instagram, left fans wonder if she had good news to announce.
Her message read: "Sometimes miracles are just good people with kind hearts," prompting fans to comment how much they missed her, writing: "I hope you’re doing well and will be back to work," and: "Missing you bunches… think positive!" as well as: "The show isn't the same without you."
Fans are eager to learn what Hoda has been up to during her time off
She later posted a message that read "choose hope," but it was revealed just a short time later that she was away from Today due to her daughter, Hope, being admitted to the hospital.
In March, the Emmy Award-winning journalist took a break from her co-hosting duties on "Today with Hoda & Jenna" when her child's health complications escalated.
On her return, she revealed that Hope was in the ICU. "My youngest, Hope, was in the ICU for a few days and in the hospital for a little more than a week," Kotb said during the March 6 episode. "I'm so grateful she's home. She is back home. I was waiting for that day to come. And we are watching her closely. I'm just so happy."
The star is yet to release details of what Hope was suffering with, but it sounds like an ongoing condition.
Speaking at the Webby Awards in New York, where she bagged the Best Interview/Talk Show Podcast for her series "Making Space with Hoda Kotb," the star opened up about Hope's condition.
"Hope's doing much better, much better," she told PEOPLE. "I think it's going to be a longer road, but she is doing great."
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