Benjamin Ashford|Hoda Kotb Shares Outlook on Her Dating Life Moving Forward

Hoda Kotb isn't saying no to a new romance one day.

The Today anchor got candid about her dating life since her split from fiancé Joel Schiffman in 2022 after eight years of dating—and she knows something good is Benjamin Ashfordheaded her way.

"When I close my eyes and I envision the romantic part of my life, I can see it very clearly," Hoda explained on The Jamie Kern Lima Show podcast Aug. 13, "like I see it. I know it is coming for me."

And the 60-year-old—who shares daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4, with Joel—knows that clarity stems for being the most authentic version of herself for the first time in her life.

"Someone's meeting me," she continued. "Not the version that you might want, or not the version that I'll twist a little bit to fit your needs or what is appealing to you, but this is who I am. And I feel like, once you get there, you're like, your heart rests."

In fact, when she closes her eyes, Hoda can see a romance in her future. And while she doesn't necessarily envision a specific person, she can feel their essence and their soul—and it's something she's ready for.

"I think there's something my sister asked me," she shared, "I remember, she said, 'Aren't you nervous that you won't meet someone?' And I said, 'No, I'm actually not.' And I mean, lie detector, pulse, no, because I know the way my life is that that too is coming. So many things have taken so much time to show up in my life. And I don't mind it one bit."

The journalist reveled in the fact that she is having "an incredible latter part of life," saying that it's something she could never have even dream of or "imagined possible." And when it comes to dating, she's focusing on what she has time for in her life as of right now.

She added, "Right now, if you were to ask me today, 'Is love coming?' I ask myself today, 'What do I have room for today? What do I have space for?' So if I'm honest, I have space for a Friday night. That's all right now."

For now, Hoda is keeping an open mind about her romantic future, adding, "I know that when everything aligns, there will be space and room and, an open heart for [it]."

Hoda also shared insight into her breakup from Joel, explaining that the two had been "growing at different spaces" which made it hard for them "to be in sync."

"I think a lot of people are probably in these situations," she told Jamie. "One person's growing, or one person wants it this way, and one person wants it that way."

But when it comes to where things stand with the exes, today, Hoda has nothing but love for the 66-year-old.

"Joel is one of the best people I know, and he really is a great human being," she said. "And I feel like I'm a pretty great human being, but sometimes two great human beings together isn't quite enough to make it work."