Hoda Kotb welcomed two children with her ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman before the two split in 2022.

The TODAY show host — who took her final bow as a co-anchor on Jan. 10 — and Schiffman first shared their relationship publicly in 2015 after dating for a couple of years. In November 2019, Schiffman popped the question while the two were enjoying an intimate beachside dinner.

They went on to adopt two little girls together — Haley Joy in 2017 and Hope Catherine in 2019 — before announcing their split in 2022.

“Joel is one of the best people I know. He really is a great human being,” Kotb said of their relationship in an August 2024 episode of the Jamie Kern Lima Show. “And I feel like I’m a great human being. But sometimes two great human beings together isn’t enough to make it work.”

So who is Hoda Kotb’s ex-fiancé? Here’s everything to know about Joel Schiffman and his relationship with the TV personality.

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Schiffman works in finance

After graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a degree in economics, Schiffman went on to have a successful career in finance.

He started working at his current company, Schroder Investment Management, in January 2019 and served in a number of different positions before becoming the head of strategic partnerships in August 2022, per his LinkedIn.

Kotb and Schiffman met at a Wall Street event

Schiffman and Kotb first crossed paths in 2013 while attending an event on Wall Street that Kotb “didn’t want to go to,” she shared in a 2015 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.

“It was pouring rain, it was yucky, it was a bunch of Wall Street guys — not my crowd. I had to give a speech, they were bored. When I was leaving, they said, ‘You need to sign a few pictures.’ He was next in line and he goes, ‘Can you sign this?’ And I said, ‘Who should I write it to?’ And he said, ‘How about to me?’ “

“I asked someone from the place — I asked, ‘Will you find out his situation?’ ” she continued. “Because I didn’t know anything about him. I knew he didn’t have a wedding ring, but that’s all I knew. Then she emailed him and he emailed me and asked me out on a date.”

The two kept their relationship private until 2015 when Kotb felt “comfortable” that it wouldn’t be “wrecked” by being in the public eye.

They got engaged in 2019

Schiffman proposed to Kotb in November 2019 during a romantic beachside dinner. She announced the happy news during an episode of the TODAY show, showing off her ring and sharing photos — including one in which they wrote “Hoda and Joel” in the sand with rose petals scattered around their names.

Kotb told her co-hosts that Schiffman “said some beautiful things” while he was asking her to marry him.

“My heart has literally been pounding,” she said. “I was totally shocked. He had a good poker face.”

The two planned to have their destination wedding in November 2020, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re just trying to make sure that everyone can travel. That’s really what we want to do,” Kotb told co-anchor Jenna Bush Hager during a July 2021 episode of TODAY. “We want to do it in a place that we love deep in our soul that means a lot to us, and we want our closest to come.”

She added, “But Joel kept saying, ‘Why are we waiting? Let’s just go already.’ “

Kotb announced their split in 2022

After eight years together, Kotb announced her and Schiffman’s split in January 2022 during an episode of TODAY.

“Joel and I have had a lot of prayerful and meaningful conversations over the holidays and we decided that we’re better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple, so we decided we are going to start this new year … on our new path as loving parents to our adorable, delightful children, and as friends,” she said.

Kotb elaborated, “It’s not like something happened. They say 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.”

The TODAY co-anchor reflected on her relationship further in August 2024 on the Jamie Kern Lima Show, explaining that she felt she and Schiffman were “growing at different paces,” which caused them to be out of “sync.”

They continue to co-parent their two daughters

Kotb became a mom in 2017 when she adopted her elder daughter, Haley. To simplify the adoption process, since she and Schiffman weren’t married at the time, Kotb left Schiffman’s name off of the papers, but insisted that “Haley will call him Dad.”

In a March 2017 interview with PEOPLE, Kotb described Schiffman, who also has an adult daughter from a previous marriage, as “a great dad and a great influence.“

The couple decided to expand their family again in 2019 when they adopted Hope. “I mean, Joel, who is a prince, when I talked to him about two, I said, ‘Hey, I want to talk to you about something. I really feel like Hayley should have a sibling, just to go through life with,’ ” she told PEOPLE in May 2019 of how the decision to have another child came about. “He said, ‘What took you so long?’ “

Though the pair split, they continue to amicably co-parent together, with Kotb telling PEOPLE in August 2022 that they have a solid routine “down.”

“He’ll have a Saturday, and I’ll do the Sunday. We switch each week,” she said. “He’ll take the girls and do some fun things, and I’ll take some quiet time. It’s a healthy mix, and the kids love it. He’s a great dad.”