Hoda Kotb moved out of New York apartment with her daughters weeks before ‘Today’ exit news

Hoda Kotb moved out of her New York City apartment and into a suburban home with her two daughters just weeks before she announced she’s leaving “Today.”

The 60-year-old, who is mom to adopted daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, opened up about the move on the Aug. 27 episode of “Today with Hoda and Jenna.”

“It’s all new — new kids, new school, new things, new everything,” she said. “And it’s funny because all I could think of was I want my house for the kids to feel warm and cozy and a place where they want to hang. And that’s it.”

After revealing her daughters now have their own rooms, Kotb said she was happy about the big change to her life.

“I do love the whole kind of restarting, repotting, starting something new. It feels really good,” she shared.

Kotb lived in her NYC apartment when she adopted Haley and Hope in 2017 and 2019, respectively. During that time, she was in a relationship with financier Joel Schiffman. They got engaged in November 2019, but Kotb announced their split in January 2022.

On Aug. 12, Kotb told People she was preparing to move the following week. She said her move was delayed because she had to work the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

“I was away in Paris, and then just getting back and dealing with my birthday and other things, it’s been on the back-burner. But we’re almost there!” said Kotb, who turned 60 on Aug. 9.

She then explained her reason for leaving the city for the suburbs.

“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. “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.”

Kotb also shared that she’s in a “repotting phase” of her life.

“That’s the journey I’m on right now. And it’s going to hurt a little, to leave that pot that was so comfortable for so long,” she said. “But in the end, it’s going to be exactly what we need.”

Kotb first talked about her move in March on her “Making Space” podcast. She told her guest, author Arthur Brooks, about how she moved many times as a kid.

“It’s so funny because the stories I tell now as an adult, are the stories of how I endured or what I did to cope,” said Kotb. “Yet at the same time, as I’m preparing my kids, I feel like I’m trying to protect them from things that they should probably be into.”

Kotb announced she’s leaving “Today” on Thursday morning.

“I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful one. And you all are the reason why,” she wrote in a letter to “Today” staff.

She also shared the news in-person with her co-anchors Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Jenna Bush Hager, Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones.

“I have spent 26 years at NBC,” she said. “I just turned 60, and it was such a monumental moment for me, because I started thinking about that decade. I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new,” said Kotb, adding that she wants to spend more time with her daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4.

Kotb clarified she will be on “Today” until early 2025, but will stay in the NBC family in an unspecified role.