Hoda Kotb‘s co-hosts practically leapt out of their chairs when she mentioned meeting a man on a recent flight. During her Aug. 21 appearance on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones lit up at the mention of the encounter, with Jones immediately floating the idea of tracking him down.
Kotb tried to curb their enthusiasm, though, telling them that “this is not a real love connection or anything.” But the details she shared told a different story.
“It was the weirdest connection in the world,” the Joy 101 founder continued. “We were both crying. It was a strange… You know when you have one of those moments that everything is firing on all cylinders? It was.”
She explained that the man kept saying, “Is this a dream? Is this real?” When they landed, they went their separate ways, but that wasn’t the last she saw of him.
Fate Strikes Again in Cannes
Kotb later ran into him again, this time at Cannes, where she’d traveled for business. He happened to be in the audience. They exchanged a quick “hello” and once again parted.
“That’s the end of the story?” Bush Hager asked in disbelief.
The former Today host revealed there was more to it: the two have since exchanged text messages. Even as Kotb kept insisting it wasn’t a love connection, she let slip that she finds him attractive—and confirmed he’s currently single.
Kotb’s Ongoing Search for Lasting Love
The moment adds another chapter to Kotb’s ongoing journey toward love. She was married to Burzis Kanga from 2005 to 2007, and later got engaged to Joel Schiffman, with whom she shares two adopted daughters, Haley Joy and Hope. Though her engagement to Schiffman ended in 2022, Kotb has remained open about wanting to find lasting love.
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“I don’t think I’ve ever really taken a deep dive into love,” Kotb wrote in her 2025 book, Jump and Find Joy. “I’ve had loving relationships, but I don’t think I’ve ever trusted that a person 100 percent has me, and that’s on me. It’s a vulnerable place to be and comes with the risk of being hurt. But it’s a risk I want to feel comfortable enough to take one day.”