For over two decades, Hoda Kotb’s warmth, wisdom, and authenticity have graced millions of American homes every morning. Whether she was delivering breaking news, sharing heartfelt interviews, or laughing alongside co-hosts, Kotb built a career rooted in connection. But in January 2025, she did something both brave and rare: she walked away from the anchor desk — and into a new season of life that she hopes includes joy, love, and purpose.
At 60, Kotb is not slowing down. She’s simply changing direction.
After years of waking up before dawn for NBC’s Today and Today with Hoda & Jenna, she realized she wanted something more than status or spotlight. She longed to be fully present for her two young daughters, Haley Joy, 8, and Hope Catherine, 6. She also dreamed of creating something that could help others feel good — not just temporarily, but in a deeply sustainable, soul-filling way.
So she did what she’s always done best: she listened to her heart.
And on May 28, she launched Joy 101, a wellness app designed to help users feel more grounded, fulfilled, and joyful through research-based practices and programs. With sessions focused on breathwork, sleep, mindfulness, personal growth, and brain health, Kotb hopes the app becomes a trusted space for people looking to reconnect with themselves.
But Joy 101 is more than a product — it’s a reflection of her personal evolution.
Kotb says the idea for Joy 101 didn’t come overnight. “I was insatiable in trying to find things that would help or enhance me and make me feel better and make my friends feel better, make everyone feel better,” she explains. But everywhere she looked, she found only fragments. “I was puzzle-piecing it together.”
From podcasts and self-help books to retreats and therapy, Kotb had spent years gathering tools. But she wanted a single space — a wellness home — where others could find resources backed by science, curated with intention, and offered with heart.
And so, she built it herself.
The app is deeply personal. Every program and class is designed with the user in mind, shaped by the same care and curiosity Kotb brings to everything she does. There’s no preachy tone or one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, it meets people where they are, offering gentle encouragement, practical tools, and space for growth.
Still, the launch of Joy 101 isn’t just a professional milestone — it marks the beginning of a new way of living for Kotb.
Leaving a job like Today isn’t easy. It’s not just a job — it’s a career-defining role, a cultural institution, and a direct line into the lives of millions. But for Kotb, the decision came from a deeper knowing.
“I don’t think I was really seeing my kids grow,” she admits. Mornings, once filled with rushed routines and pre-dawn call times, left little room for presence. Kotb wanted to be there — really be there — for the moments that make childhood magical: breakfast banter, school drop-offs, secret-sharing games before bedtime.
“So I get to,” she says, repeating the phrase that’s become a kind of mantra. “I get to be with them in the morning, I get to be with them at breakfast, I get to walk them to school… and all the good stuff comes out then.”
One night recently, while playing a simple game, one of her daughters began sharing little secrets, opening her heart in that spontaneous way kids do when they feel safe. Kotb calls it “magic.” And it’s those moments she’s now making room for — moments that don’t happen on a tight schedule, but in the quiet spaces between.
While family is front and center for Kotb, love remains one of her greatest hopes. And she’s not afraid to say she hasn’t found “the real thing” — yet.
“I’ve had wonderful relationships in my life,” she says thoughtfully, careful not to diminish what’s come before. Her 2005 marriage to Burzis Kanga ended in divorce in 2007, and she later found love again with financier Joel Schiffman, with whom she shares her daughters. Though they got engaged, Kotb announced in 2022 that they had called it off.
The end of that relationship marked another turning point. She began reflecting on what she truly wants in a partner — and, more importantly, what’s been holding her back.
“If I’m really honest with myself, I think that’s another thing that I am really, really, really looking forward to and can clearly visualize,” she says of love. “And I hope one day that I actually get to really feel it for real instead of imagining what it would feel like.”
What’s stopping her? She says it’s trust. Even now, even after so much success and self-awareness, she admits she’s still learning how to fully open up.
“If I were advising myself, I would say, ‘What the hell do you have to lose? You live once. Go, do it, do it.’ And then when it’s me, I realize that I’ve always been cautious there.”
That kind of honesty — raw, unfiltered, and self-aware — is exactly why fans have always connected with her. Kotb doesn’t pretend to have it all figured out. She’s in it, just like the rest of us. Growing. Learning. Hoping.
In a culture obsessed with hustle and hierarchy, Kotb’s story is quietly radical. She chose presence over prestige. Meaning over metrics. Wholeness over accolades.
Her success is no longer measured by ratings or Emmy nods (though she has plenty of both), but by something much simpler: time well spent, joy fully felt, and love that’s real — even if it’s still on the horizon.
And it’s not that she’s stepping away from ambition. Far from it. With Joy 101, Kotb is becoming an entrepreneur, a wellness advocate, and a digital innovator — all on her own terms. But she’s doing it differently now. There’s no manic chase. No pressure to prove. Just a steady commitment to purpose and possibility.
Perhaps the most powerful part of Kotb’s journey is that it flies in the face of outdated ideas about age and reinvention. At 60, she’s just getting started — in business, in love, in motherhood, and in self-discovery.
There’s a freedom that comes with age, Kotb says. A deeper understanding of what matters. A willingness to let go of what doesn’t. And a fierce clarity about how precious time really is.
She’s no longer chasing perfection or trying to fit into anyone else’s mold. She’s showing up exactly as she is: wiser, more grounded, and ready to embrace whatever comes next.
“I hope people know it’s never too late,” she says. “It’s never too late to start something new, to fall in love, to change direction, to find yourself again.”
What Kotb is building — through her app, her motherhood, and her own healing — isn’t just a business or a brand. It’s a life she genuinely loves. One filled with laughter, learning, and quiet moments that make her heart swell.
And it’s a life she wants to share.
With Joy 101, she’s inviting others to come along — to breathe deeper, to rest better, to live more fully. And maybe, just maybe, to believe that their best chapter might still be ahead.
Because for all her accomplishments, Kotb’s real legacy may be this: showing us that true success isn’t found on a screen or in a title. It’s found in showing up — for yourself, your people, your purpose — every single day.
