HODA Kotb has been a familiar face on television for decades, working as a news correspondent and host on The Today Show.
However, Hoda is no stranger to criticism, as her long career has been the subject of controversy, from mistakes on air to mysterious absences on television.
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Hoda has recently made headlines ahead of her interview with Prince Harry, which will air on the Today Show at 7am EST (12pm BST) on Wednesday.
A memorable moment came earlier this year when Hoda announced that she and her fiancé Joel Schiffman were separating after eight years together.
Hoda revealed the break while on air.
breakup with fiancé
She told viewers: “Joel and I have had many prayerful and meaningful conversations over the holidays and decided that we are better as friends and parents than as an engaged couple.
“So we decided that we are going to start this new year on our new path as loving parents of our adorable and lovely children and as friends.”
Hoda and Schiffman share two daughters: Hope, two, and Haley, four.
The former couple had been together since 2013 and got engaged in November 2019.
Hoda and financier Joel met after she spoke at an event for Wall Street professionals.
On November 25, 2019, she announced live on Today that she was engaged to him.
“I was totally shocked,” she told the Today panel. “She had a good poker face.”
“We ended up having a little dinner on the beach,” she said, clarifying that the two were in the middle of a tropical vacation.
“And he said, ‘I have something else I’d like to say,’ and he said some beautiful things, and then he got down on one knee. Then he said, ‘Would you be my wife?'”
They had originally planned to get married in 2020, but had to postpone it due to the pandemic.
Hoda shared the wedding plans at the time: “[It] it would mean that people are getting on planes, so we were waiting to see what would happen.
“But the destination we were going to is becoming one of the hot spots, so it looks like we’ll have to postpone.
“We’re kind of upset about that because the place we were going was like our favorite place on Earth. We love it there.”
Later that year, the TV personality revealed that she and Joel planned to expand their family and adopt a third child.
Talking with entertainment tonightHoda said in 2020, “Joel and I have had this conversation because: you feel like you have a limited amount of time on Earth and your heart is expanding, and sometimes you don’t realize your heart’s ability to expand until you’ve filled (that), and sometimes you think you’re at the top, and then you realize there’s more room.
“And we wondered, would our family be better off with another child? Do we have enough love? Do we have enough time? Will we be a better family? And the answer to all those questions seems to be yes.
“But you can’t control how life works. All we can do is put it out in the universe and fill out the paperwork and then wait and if it happens, wow, you know, it was meant to be.”
Announcing the couple’s split during the third hour of Today, Hoda explained that she had received a lot of questions from viewers about why she no longer wears her engagement ring.
Although she admitted that she felt “weird and uncomfortable” talking about this and was “struggling” with what to say, she wanted to be open with fans and let them know what was going on.
Hoda added in explaining her split from her financial fiancé: “It’s not like anything happened.
“They say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason, a season or a lifetime, this was for a season.”
TODAY SHOWS ABSENCE
In December 2021, Hoda was notably absent from The Today Show. Guests packed her place with co-host Jenna Bush Hager on the fourth hour of Today.
Hoda returned later that month, shocking viewers watching from home. Many wondered why she hadn’t seen it for so long.
It turned out that Hoda had decided to take a break from technology.
“I went to this retreat where they take your phone away again,” she told Jenna.
Hoda added that he was going to make an effort to only use his phone when he needed it “after going almost 10 days without it.”
She said the experience had shocked her and now she doesn’t want to be hunched over her phone again.
Fans were quick to flock to the comments of the Instagram of today’s show once they saw that Hoda had returned, they thanked the host for reminding them to spend less time on their phones.
“Welcome back Hoda. We miss you and glad you’re back!!!” one fan wrote.
“So happy for Hoda. Really needed to rest,” wrote another.
A third wrote: “Great to hear you had a great vacation Hoda!”
Hoda promised that she would dedicate herself to keeping her screen time to a minimum as much as she can.
“I asked myself the simplest question: ‘Was I happier with it or happier without it?’ And I was happier without it,” she said.
“Usually I have a mania to do it, this is not that fashion. And I realized that I feel different… I feel so free and so clear that it’s not me.”
On Friday, January 7, viewers of The Today Show once again noted that Hoda was absent from her hosting duties, this time for two days in a row.
She revealed that her lack of presence on the famous morning broadcast was due to her contracting Covid-19.
LIVE WEIGH-IN
Hoda and co-host Jenna got into trouble in 2019 when the two decided to weigh in on live TV.
The hosts adopted the intermittent fasting diet and weighed themselves to note their possible progress.
“We’re doing it to be healthy,” Jenna said, with Hoda adding, “And to improve our brain health.”
Hoda weighed in at 158 pounds, while Jenna, who had just given birth to son Hal a few months ago, weighed in at 171 pounds.
The stunt drew criticism from audience members, with the hosts admitting they should have given the decision a bit more thought.
“For a second, I was transported back to when I was like a chubby kid,” Jenna said, “and I found a scale in my mom’s room and weighed myself. And for a moment, I was stuck there.”
“All I heard was that. It made me feel a little bad. I weighed myself, last time when I was in college I weighed a lot less, so it was a shock, it really was.”
Hoda added: “Look, we feel grateful. Don’t get us wrong. We are healthy, my God, no one knows better how much that matters.”
“There’s something about standing on the scale and seeing the number, like, not stopping. I was like, ‘Wait, I don’t remember this number.'”
The hosts received criticism from viewers who accused them of body shaming, but Hoda said they learned “a lesson.”
“I think we’re doing this because we want to feel better. We want to feel better about our girls. We want to feel happier.”
Jenna said, “We teach our girls that they are so much more than how they look. That they are bright, interesting, funny, smart, caring and compassionate, and that there is so much more to life than a number on the scale.” .”
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Reference-www.thesun.co.uk