Back in 2023, Hoda Kotb was forced to take a two week leave of absence for a "family health matter" from TODAY, which was later revealed to concern her younger daughter, six-year-old Hope.
Now, over two years later, Hoda, 60, makes her return to her familiar Studio 1A set just five months after saying goodbye to her longtime hosting gig to share news of her daughter's diagnosis. Hoda also welcomed daughter Haley, eight, with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman.
The mom-of-two came back to the show the day she plans to launch her new lifestyle venture, Joy 101, and spoke about her decision to leave TODAY after seven years as co-anchor, her life with her daughters and, for the first time, publicly revealed Hope's medical condition. Relive what she said back in 2023 in the video below...
Hoda shared that she had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes after being briefly hospitalized during the family emergency in 2023, elaborating on her need to be there increasingly for her daughter "definitely weighing in" on her decision to leave NBC.
"As anyone with a child who has Type 1 (knows), especially a little kid, you're constantly watching, you're constantly monitoring, you're constantly checking, which is what I did all the time when I was (at TODAY)," she told TODAY.com. "You're distracted."
Later, while speaking with her former colleagues Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin, she explained that Hope's condition allowed her to reassess her "priority" rankings in life, leading to her pivotal decision to leave TODAY.
© Getty Images"You just get a priority check in your life," Hoda detailed. "I can be here and sweating what's happening to Hope in the morning and in the night, or I can be there and feel relief that I can see."
At the time, Hoda simply shared that Hope spent a few days in the ICU for what they believed to be flu-like symptoms but turned out to be something more. She did not specify what exactly her condition was, although speculation online did posit that she might be diabetic.
Per the Mayo Clinic, type 1 diabetes has no cure and is a chronic condition that typically develops during childhood or adolescence. "In this condition, the pancreas makes little or no insulin," it says. "Insulin is a hormone the body uses to allow sugar (glucose) to enter cells to produce energy."
© InstagramHoda was firm to clarify, though, that while Hope does require a bit more monitoring throughout the day, plus a few key lifestyle changes, she still leads her life like any other happy six-year-old does.
"Hope is fine for most of the day," the former Fourth Hour anchor explained. "There are just moments where you have to watch her."
© Getty Images"I was totaling it up — five minutes at breakfast, five minutes at lunch, five minutes at dinner, sometimes overnight. Add that up, that's a half-hour. So for 23 and a half hours, she's every other kid. So I try to remember that."
The mom-of-two opined that her best piece of advice for other parents was to not let their stress affect their kids and to not treat them any differently. "Don't put your worry on your kid."
© Instagram"Watch them, but don't put your worry on them. Let them be kids and give them what they need when they need it."
