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Hoda Kotb may have just welcomed her second daughter [3], Hope Catherine [4], through adoption, but the 54-year-old mom of two [5] isn't taking adopting a third baby off the table just yet. In an interview with People, Hoda opened up about how she approached talking about Hope's adoption with her partner [6], Joel Schiffman, as well as her thoughts on baby number three.
In 2018, Hoda told Dr. Oz that before adopting her now 2-year-old Haley, she felt nervous about talking to Joel [7], who already had a grown daughter. "I remember I said to Joel, 'I want to ask you a question. I'm going to bring something up to you and don't answer me right now.' I said, 'Just let it marinate for a day or a week or as long as you need.' He said, 'OK.' I said, 'I can't hold it in, so I'm going to say it.' So I said, 'I'd like to explore adoption with you.' And he said, 'I don't need a day.'"
Then, nine months after welcoming their adorable daughter, Haley Joy [9], she approached him again.
"When I talked to [Joel] about two, I said, 'Hey, I want to talk to you about something.' I said, 'I really feel like [Haley] should have a sibling . . . just to go through life with. It's a long life she's going to live.' I want her to say, 'That's my brother, that's my sister,'" she said. "[Joel] said, 'What took you so long?' . . . We went to get Hope [10] and they put Hope in my arms, and I looked at Joel's face and he was crying."
Now they're a happy family of four [12], and even though Hoda says she's learning to balance life with two kids [13], that's not to say that she wouldn't welcome another kiddo into the mix. She said, "I come from three, so I'd never close a door, ever, ever."