Today show host Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman have ended their engagement, breaking up after eight years together. The former couple were engaged in November 2019, and will continue to co-parent their daughters, 4-year-old Haley and 2-year-old Hope.

The 57-year-old Kotb shared on ‘Today With Hoda & Jenna’:  “People have written in and asked why I wasn’t wearing my engagement ring. Joel and I have had, we’ve had a lot of prayerful and really meaningful conversations over the holidays, and we decided that we’re better as friends and parents then we are as an engaged couple.  We decided that we are going to start this New Year and begin it on our new path, as loving parents to our adorable, delightful children and as friends. It’s not like something happened. They say that sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason or a season or for a lifetime, and I feel like ours was meant to be there for a season.”

Kotb added: “This is weird and awkward. I really was struggling with this. I was like, ‘What do I say, how do I say it?’ But I feel like often we share the joyous pieces of our life… and then the difficult part sometimes you want to forget about. You want to erase them, you don’t want to share them because that’s not part of a pretty picture. But I think a lot of women know what this feels like in this moment, to be changing course in life. And I feel really brave in this moment, I really do.”   Speaking of Schiffman, Kotb said: “He’s a great guy. He’s a very kind and loving person, and I feel privileged to have spent eight years with him.”

In October 2020, Kotb shared she was considering adopting a third child with Schiffman. When announcing her breakup, however, Kotb did not mention whether she and Schiffman are still planning on going forward with another adoption.

Hoda Kotb, Joel Schiffman Split After 8 Years Together: ‘Better as Friends’

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