Hoda Kotb is dipping her toe back into the dating pool.
“I have to say something, something happened recently that hasn’t happened in two years,” said 59-year-old Kotb in the Tuesday, March 5 episode. The Kelly Clarkson Show. “I had a date! I had a date.”
Kelly Clarkson seemed shocked by Kotb’s admission and replied, “That’s huge.” That’s huge to even be in a place where you can do that.” While she appreciated her friend’s praise, Kotb clarified that it was “nothing but a date.”
The romantic update comes two years after Kotb and Joel Schiffman have called off their engagement. The couple, who were together for eight years, share daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4.
Kotb announced their breakup during a January 2022 episode Today with Hoda and Jenna, saying, “Joel and I had many prayerful and meaningful conversations over the holidays, and we decided that we are better as friends and parents than as an engaged couple. So we’ve decided that we’re going to start this new year and kind of start on our new path as loving parents to our adorable, beautiful children, and as friends.
After sharing that she’s going out again on Tuesday, Kotb then asked Clarkson, 41, if she’d ever thought about dating again. (Clarkson finalized her divorce from Brandon Blackstock in 2022. The couple shares daughter River, 9, and son Remington, 7.)
“Not at all. Not even a little bit. I really enjoy not having a man in my life. Like, it’s just too hard. There’s too much,” Clarkson replied. “There’s all the jobs, plus the kids, plus being there for the kids while you’re there. Because sometimes people still email you, and I’m like, ‘No, no, no, we’re home now. We’re not doing this.’”
After laughing, Kotb praised the first American Idol winner because she pulled herself up by her ‘roots’.
“Suddenly you brought those roots to New York City. You put them in fertile soil. Look what’s happened to you since you moved here,” Kotb said. “Everything has changed. I feel like I’m watching this in slow motion.”
She continued to praise Clarkson’s progress, adding, “You are blossoming in a way that I didn’t see all those years ago.” You are blossoming, my girl, and I am so proud of you.
Two months after Clarkson settled her divorce from Blackstock, 47, in March 2022, she announced she was moving her family and The Kelly Clarkson Show from Los Angeles to New York City.
After Clarkson parted ways with Hollywood, a source exclusively shared We weekly in May 2023 that the move “wouldn’t have much impact” on her and Blackstock’s co-parenting relationship “as they already live in different states and she has primary custody.”
“Kelly is very excited about this next chapter and looking forward to a fresh start,” the insider said.
In addition to building her new home in New York, she also closed a chapter in her financial relationship with her ex. Earlier this year, Clarkson paid her final spousal support to Blackstock. (According to court documents obtained by UsClarkson agreed to pay Blackstock $115,000 monthly spousal support through January 2024 and was asked to pay a one-time, tax-free reimbursement of $1,326,161.)
“Kelly is relieved that her partner support for Brandon has come to an end,” the source said Us. “She has been ready for a while and is so happy that her payments to Brandon will be complete. It’s so nice to know that this chapter of her life can end with the new year.”