Hoda Kotb, the lead anchor of Today, likes partnerships that flourish without the tether of marriage.

But, with her fiancé Joel Schiffman already being the adoptive parents of two gorgeous children and having made the beginning steps to welcome another child into their inclusive family, the requirement of marriage has admittedly intensified in their relationship.

Here’s what Kotb had to say about her and Schiffman’s forthcoming wedding.

Visit Instagram to see this post.

Hoda Kotb (@hodakotb) shared a post.

Marrying Fiance, according to Hoda Kotb Schiffman, Joel

Since June 2013, the seasoned journalist and Schiffman have been dating. They met through mutual friends at an event and instantly clicked.

During a tropical trip, the famous businessman proposed to Kotb after six years of dating. He kept his poker face while preparing the plan in secrecy, hiding the engagement ring in his pocket.

He poured his heart out for the anchor over dinner before ultimately asking her the big question. Kotb accepted the proposal, surprised and happy. She raved about the engagement on her talk show, Today With Hoda & Jenna, a few days later.

“He was weeping, and I was crying, and I looked at him and thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, this is that thing,” she recalled. Despite living together as a family, she claimed that she felt differently following the formal proposal.

On Instagram, you may see this post.

Following their engagement, the couple decided to have a beach wedding in August 2020. The epidemic, however, forced them to postpone their wedding, and they planned to marry in November of that year. Unfortunately, the second date had to be canceled as well.

Despite the challenges, the 57-year-old said on her show Today with Hoda & Jenna that she is determined to marry her long-time lover.

A legal marriage, Kotb explained, would allow her and her girls to feel even more like one big, happy family. She noted how difficult it would be for her children to explain their parents were old and unmarried because of their age difference. She believed that a wedding would be the last thing that would bring her family together.

Hoda Kotb and her fiancé are considering adopting a third child.

Kotb was 50 years old when she adopted her first daughter, Haley Joy, in 2017. She called Andy Cohen and conveyed her astonishment at the prospect of becoming a mother.

Cohen backed her up in her decision and informed her that the baby was on schedule. Kotb and her partner adopted another daughter, Hope Catherine, two years later.

Hoda surprised her fans and followed in October 2020 when she revealed she and her future husband have completed the procedures to adopt a third child.

Since making the announcement, Kotb has kept her fans updated on the adoption.

“I imagined it would be a different game,” she said in a July 2021 interview with Cohen. Furthermore, the mother-of-two stated that the process had been “very slow” due to the pandemic.

She also stated that they were patiently awaiting the process as recommended by their agency.