The 'Today' show co-anchor has already filled out the paperwork.
Hoda Kotb is very much open to adopting another child. ET's Rachel Smith recently spoke to the Today show co-anchor about her new book, This Just Speaks to Me -- which dropped on Tuesday -- and she also talked about expanding her family with her fiance, Joel Schiffman.
Kotb is already a mom to daughters Haley and Hope, whom she adopted in 2017 and 2019, respectively. She said she and Schiffman have definitely discussed adopting another child together, and have already filled out the paperwork.
"You know what, Joel and I have had this conversation because -- you feel like you get a limited of time on earth and your heart expands, and sometimes you don't realize your heart's ability to expand until you've filled [it] and sometimes you think you're at the top, and then you realize that there's more room," she says. "And we wondered, you know, would our family be better with another child? Do we have enough love, do we have enough time, you know, will we be a better family unit? And the answer to all those questions seems to be 'yes, we would be.'"
"But you can't control how life works," she adds. "Like, all we can do is put it into the universe and fill out papers and then wait and if it happens wow, you know, that was meant to be."
Kotb said whether or not they'll get to adopt a third child is "in God's hands."
"But you know, it's like with anything, sometimes things take years, some things never come to fruition, some things take a day, so you just wait and see," she notes. "I always feel like it's, you know, it's in God's hands. It's not in mine, so if it's meant to be, we're happy 'cause, you know, we have room and we have love. We'll scoot right over, here's some more room over here."
Kotb's latest project is her new book, This Just Speaks to Me, which is a collection of beloved quotes that offers inspiration, wisdom and hope. She also writes about the people and moments that have enriched her life, discussing everything from motherhood and friendship to love and loss. Given the current coronavirus pandemic and recent world events, the book couldn't come at a more perfect time.
"We know that, like, a book of quotes and something to soothe your soul in the middle of chaos is always something we need no matter what, and we actually -- my cowriter and I, Jane Lorenzini -- were writing the book and the intent was, you know, to have a book of quotes and then we found ourselves smack in the middle of a pandemic and a period of racial awakening and we realized our quote book wasn't so good, and we needed to make it better and make it more about the times we're living in," she shares. "And it's weird how fate plays out, because I think this is when the book should be released and weirdly it's happening, you know, on the eve of an election. But, I think everybody needs something that gives them the feeling of like, a warm hand on their heart. Just something to say you know what, let's just get through today and then we'll see what tomorrow brings."
As for her own personal life, Kotb said the trying times actually solidified her relationship with Schiffman.
"I think until you go through something difficult with someone you don't know them, really," she says. "'Cause when everything's good, everything's good. You don't have to make any choices that are really difficult, you're not in a bad position, you don't see someone when they're totally squeezed under pressure. And I realized in this moment, weirdly this may be the first real difficult thing we've gone through together. And that's what I was thinking, like, we haven't had any big tragedies in the time we've known one another. And this was a difficult time. And I realized in this moment that he's rock solid in a crisis, he's rock solid."
"Like, he doesn't create problems that aren't there, he learns how to deal with what we have," she continues. "He's not concerned about X and Y, he cares about our health and safety. He takes good care, ... but he's just the right person. And I think I chose well. And that's a good feeling because sometimes you don't know, you know, you hope you did."
As for their upcoming wedding, she said she hopes to tie the knot next year.
"I mean, everything's gonna depend on if people can fly and that's the whole thing, like, you really can't say, you know, we're gonna do it...if things are still influxed, we'll probably just do something closer to home with a smaller group I think," he says. "If in the next six or eight months it still doesn't look like people are flying or going places, then we'll probably end up doing something in the summertime close by I think."
For more on their relationship, watch the video below.
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