Hoda Kotb’s new home will be full of love and sentimental decor! The Today host was presented with a touching item to help decorate the new space — and it almost brought her to tears.
On Monday, August 12, Today celebrated Hoda’s 60th birthday with a bash on the Today plaza. Jenna Bush Hager told Hoda that she had a special “little gift” for her, which ended up being a painting of Hoda’s family done by Jenna’s dad, former President George W. Bush.
“I know how much your girls mean to you,” Jenna, 42, said as Hoda stood next to her and unwrapped the gift. “I had my dad, who has started painting, paint your favorite photo of you holding your girls.”
“This is just for you,” the former first daughter added. “This is something that I hope you can hang in your new home.”
Hoda choked back tears and hugged Jenna as members of the live audience were touched by the precious moment between the friends. In the bottom right corner of the piece of artwork, George, 78, signed the painting with the number 43, as he was the 43rd president of the United States.
It definitely was the sweetest gift for Hoda, who is a mom to daughters Haley and Hope with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman. Hoda was in her 50s when she became a mom and is so thankful for the blessings that have come into her life in the past decade.
“I remember vividly turning 50 and saying to myself, ‘This life that you have is great and don’t ask for more because you’re deserving of only what you have,” she said on Today. “I wondered if I was worthy of being a mother. I wondered that. And one day I said, ‘I wonder if it’s OK to say out loud: I wish to be a mom.’ … What I was doing was speaking it out into the universe.”
“I got Haley Joy Kotb, and then I got Hope Catherine Kotb,” she gushed. “Sometimes we think our blessings have passed us by. But, no. They’re coming. I thought I had everything I needed, but your heart’s ability to expand is beyond measure.”
After her birthday bash on the morning talk show, the mom of two revealed in an interview with People that she is “almost” ready to move into the new home with her kids.
There’s still some finishing touches being put on the place by painters. Hoda was also overseas covering the 2024 Paris Olympics with the Today team, pushing back her move a little longer. But still, she’s thrilled to be leaving the city for a new house in the suburbs in the next phase of her life.
“I want my kids to feel grass on their feet, and play in the yard, and ride bikes down the street, and run up and down the stairs,” she said of the reason for the big move. “I just see that life for them in this perfect house in this beautiful little town where I know they’ll be able to blossom into beautiful, independent, strong women.”
