Hoda Kotb has a man asking her out, and she hasn’t said yes. The former Today anchor is still exchanging text messages with the stranger she met on an airplane, but his invitations have yet to turn into a date.
Kotb, 62, shared the update while filling in for Sheinelle Jones on the November 9 episode of Today With Jenna & Sheinelle. Jenna Bush Hager wanted to know what had happened with the man her former cohost had spoken about over the summer.
Kotb said she is looking for emotional and spiritual compatibility, with different priorities from those that mattered when she was younger. She believes a meaningful relationship is ahead of her, although she acknowledged that finding it will require taking some risks.
She has been navigating dating since the end of her engagement to financier Joel Schiffman. The couple announced their separation in January 2022 and continue to raise daughters Haley and Hope together.
Kotb Enjoys the Flirting but Is Hesitant About a Date
Earlier in the broadcast, Kotb said she wanted to stop softening her requests with tentative language and apologies. “I just want to say what the thing is and then get a response,” she explained, according to TV Insider. After Kotb praised Bush Hager’s directness, her friend immediately asked about her romantic prospects.
“One, probably I’m scared,” Kotb said when explaining her hesitation, as USA TODAY reported. She also enjoys the anticipation of a flirtation that might become something more. Going out could reveal that the connection is less promising than she imagined, ending some of the fun she is having with the uncertainty.
Bush Hager encouraged her to accept the next invitation, describing Kotb as someone who has already shown courage when facing difficult changes. She wanted her friend to give a coffee date a chance rather than leave the connection entirely in their messages. Kotb became emotional and agreed. “I will go on the coffee date,” she said, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Their Flight Conversation Was Followed by a Reunion in Cannes
Kotb had first discussed the encounter during a July episode of her YouTube series Joy Rides with comedian Michelle Buteau. She described leaving the flight feeling buoyant and wanting more of the connection she had experienced, even though she could not yet define it.
During her August 21 return to the morning show, she supplied more of the story. Their conversation had left both passengers crying, and the man seemed as surprised by the experience as she was. “Is this a dream? Is this real?” she remembered him asking.
They later crossed paths in Cannes, where Kotb had traveled for a business event involving her wellness company, Joy 101. She spotted him in the audience, and they exchanged greetings. She initially thought little would follow that second encounter.
Sheinelle Jones compared the sequence to Notting Hill, while Bush Hager became particularly enthusiastic when Kotb confirmed that the man was single. Kotb called him “very handsome” but resisted describing their connection as a relationship. Entertainment Tonight covered that August exchange in its report on her dating update.
Sandra Bullock Asked What They Had Talked About
During a September 8 interview with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman about Practical Magic 2, Kotb found herself answering questions instead of asking them. Bullock had seen the earlier discussion and wanted to know more about the passenger who had made such an impression.
Kotb described him as someone working in artificial intelligence who divided his time between New York and Miami. According to InStyle, she recalled him explaining how a photograph of a child living in poverty had prompted him to send assistance and reconsider his priorities. He told her he wanted to devote more of his life to charitable work.
Bullock approved of what she was hearing. Looking into the camera, she mouthed “Call her” and mimed picking up a telephone. Kidman joined the encouragement with a joke about lending some of their witchy magic to Kotb’s love life.