Hoda Kotb says the arrival of her adopted daughter reaffirmed her belief in god.
The ‘Today’ show co-host – whose Muslim parents moved to America from Egypt – gave a home to Haley Joy, now 21 months old, in February 2017 just a few days after she was born on Valentine’s Day.
Hoda decided to adopt after treatment for breast cancer 10 years earlier left her unable to conceive a baby and although her faith wavered as she face numerous trials in her personal life – including the end of her two-year marriage to tennis coach Burzis Kanga in 2008 – her daughter restored that.
In an interview with Arianna Huffington on the Thrive Global Podcast, she said: "We were just brought up to believe in God. We were all about that, and I feel like when you have a relationship with God, and I feel like I’ve had endless, countless, abundant conversations about it. Sometimes you think, can he hear me? Does he hear me? Am I just talking to myself? Is it for real?
"But, I think when Haley arrived, I didn’t have any doubt in that belief, when Haley arrived it was personified. Literally, when I watch her now, I just feel like she’s proof of everything. Like, everything. Yeah. She’s the best.
"At the time, I was going through a separation that would lead to a divorce. It was like, horrible things were happening at the same time, and I kept thinking this is an avalanche of pain. How do people, how does anyone deal with this?"
Before becoming a mother to Haley, Hoda had resigned herself to never being a parent and had started to investigate different careers away from television which could fulfill her craving to nurture young people.
The 54-year-old presenter – who is in a long-term relationship with Joel Schiffman – said: "I talked to myself and I said, ‘You have so many blessings in your life, here’s something you don’t get. You don’t get children. It’s not the end of the world. You have great nieces.’ I always wanted to teach little kids. As soon as I’m done with this job at the ‘Today’ show, I’m going to teach first and second graders. I said I’m going to fill it. I wanted to start a summer camp for kids. I had a million kid-related dreams, so I said, ‘I will be able to fulfill that. I just can’t have my own.’ "
Hoda Kotb: Adoption restored my faith in god
