Getty Images; Courtesy of Hoda Kotb/Instagram
Hoda Kotb and Ex-Fiance Joel Schiffman ‘Still Get Along Great’: They ‘Ended Things on a Good Note’
Hoda Kotb and ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman spent Christmas together in 2024, two years after she announced their shocking breakup on Today.
“Hoda and Joel ended things on a good note, which is why he was with her and the kids on Christmas Day,” an insider exclusively tells Closer. “They broke up but still get along great.”
Hoda, 60, shared multiple photos from her Christmas celebration with her daughters, Haley and Hope, and Joel, 66, on Instagram on Wednesday, December 25. The comments section of her post flooded with reactions from fans, who were happy to see the former couple making Christmas special for their kids.
“I love seeing your family together. You and Joel are doing it right,” one person commented on Hoda’s post, while another said, “So happy to see Joel with you guys!”
The exes have remained dedicated to coparenting their two young children after their split.
“Hayley and Hope love Joel. He’s still in their lives, so they were very happy to see him,” the insider adds.
The girls live with their mom in their new suburban home, which Hoda purchased earlier this year. And the broadcaster made sure Christmas spirit radiated throughout her home, decorating each room for the holidays.
In one photo posted on her Instagram account, Hoda revealed that she had a stocking for all of her family members and a stocking for Joel hanging above the fireplace. It’s a holiday tradition she plans on keeping for years to come.
“Hoda has the new home, and of course she brought all her Christmas traditions with her, including hanging a stocking for Joel,” the insider says.
This holiday season has been all the more special for Hoda, since it is her last hoorah as a host on Today. She will be leaving the show on January 10, with her final episode sure to be full of tearjerking moments for her and her colleagues.
“Hoda will be overwhelmed, but she deserves all the flowers,” an insider told Closer earlier this week of what fans can expect for Hoda’s final episode. “She’ll be in tears, that’s for sure.”
Hoda recently reflected on hosting her final Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting with her Today cohosts and how emotional it was for her. But even though she will no longer be a part of the show, she still plans on watching it at home.
“I think I’ll like watching at home. Because I think so many of those things are beautiful, obviously, but I did the last tree lighting that we just had. That one sort of weirdly hit me,” she said during a December 18 appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers.
“Once we did the ‘three, two, one…’ and the tree lit up, I was thinking to myself, I looked around for a second, you know, sometimes moments pass and you’re not in them. I was totally in it. I was like, this is it right now! It was one of those,” she said of hosting her final tree lighting ceremony on December 4.
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