Hoda Kotb shared some snaps from her 60th birthday morning on Friday as she opened presents with her family and enjoyed a day off from work at her beautiful Long Island beach house.
The Today host, who was recently reunited with her daughters after being away in Paris to cover the 2024 Olympics, looked happy and relaxed as she marked her milestone birthday with her girls: Haley, seven, and Hope, four, as well as her former fiancé Joel Schiffman.
In the first photo, an excited Hoda can be seen holding up a gift she’d just opened, which appeared to be three separate necklaces as Hope and Haley looked at her adoringly with their hands rested on her legs.
Mom-of-two Hoda was dressed casually in a pair of blue shorts and a baggy T-shirt, and was surrounded by balloons as she sat in what appeared to be her mother’s walker at the wooden dining table.
A second picture showed Hope holding a bunch of balloons whilst standing at the same rectangular table and in the background there was two clocks on the wall, one showing US time and the other showing the time in Paris.
Hoda Kotb shared this sweet photo of her and her daughters Hope and Haley on her 60th birthday morning
Hoda appeared to be having a great time celebrating with her family, including her ex-fiance Joel Schiffman
The TV star was joined by her mother, Sameha, and her brother, Adel, on her very special day
Hoda clearly decided to set this up so that her daughters always knew what time it was whilst she was working away in France, and she’s also handwritten a schedule for the Olympics so that her girls could watch along at home.
As well as a calendar, which was balanced on the wooden floor, Hoda also has a piece of artwork on the wall as well as a sign which reads: ‘Point Lookout New York.’
It’s unsure where exactly her house is located on Long Island but it appears to be close to the water as Hoda’s huge glass backdoors lead out onto a decking and steps which lead to the beach.
The property appears to be decorated in neutral tones with a large cream sofa, a white staircase, and matching walls.
Hoda’s countertops are adorned with picture frames, no doubt full of family photos, and she also had several hand drawn pictures from her daughters stuck on the glass doors – which can be seen clearly in a photo of the girls cuddling up to their grandmother, Hoda’s mom Sameha.
In the final pic of the post, which Hoda captioned: ‘Great bday morning!! Lucky me xoxoxo,’ they were joined by Hoda’s brother Adel and another female relative.
Hoda’s 2.5 million followers were quick to comment on the post and send their well wishes as one person wrote: ‘Happy 60th. I hope your day is magical!’ and another said: ‘Happy birthday to the best around!!! Hope it’s as amazing as you are!’
A third commented: ‘Happy Birthday Hoda! Have a wonderful time celebrating with your beautiful family,’ and a fourth added: ‘Happy birthday to one of the greatest humans out there!!’
Hoda also posted a sweet photo of her daughters Hope and Haley cuddling up to her mom
The TV star also shared a snap of four-year-old Hope clutching a bunch of balloons at her Long Island home
Her fellow NBC host, Jacob Soboroff, commented: ‘Happy birthday!’ and Maria Schriver wrote: ‘Happy happy my friend sending you boat loads of love.’
In a separate post, Hoda told her fans that ’60 rocks’ as she shared another group photo, this time featuring her ex Joel.
The 66-year-old financier was dressed in a short-sleeved floral shirt and was stood next to Hoda’s brother and in front of huge gold letter balloons which spelt out ‘Happy 60 birthday.’
Hoda, who announced her split from Joel in January 2022, was sat on a sofa in front of him with their daughters and her mother by her side.
Hoda’s Today cohosts also took to social media to mark her special day as Al Roker posted a montage video featuring photos of them working together over the years and captioned it: ‘How can you not smile when you’re with @hodakotb. Happy birthday to someone who has shared laughs, tears and so much more. Love you.’
Jenna Bush Hager also posted several photos of them together and wrote alongside them: ‘Happiest Birthday to my dearest @hodakotb! You make me smile every single day. How lucky I am! How lucky we all are! Love you! Can’t wait to celebrate Monday!’
And the official Instagram page for the Today show also paid tribute to Hoda with several pictures of the TV star and captioned it: ‘Happy 60th birthday to our favorite hack enthusiast and America’s cheerleader, @hodakotb!
‘We love you so much and can’t wait to celebrate you. Don’t Miss Hoda’s 60th Birthday Bash live on the Plaza, Monday, Aug. 12!’
Savannah Guthrie decided to post just one picture of them together hosting Today and captioned it: ‘Happy birthday to the one who brings a smile to every person she encounters, who is quick with a hug, whose giggle is infectious, who cheerleads for others relentlessly – to the one whose mere presence immediately changes the atmosphere for the better.
‘I love you and admire you and treasure every minute we get to spend together. This is 60, you beautiful creature you!’ she added.
In recent years, Hoda has been very vocal about the fact that her life has gotten better as she’s gotten older – and certainly hasn’t been worried about approaching the big 6-0.
Speaking about her birthday last year, she said on Today with Hoda & Jenna: ‘Here’s the great thing that I realized: I turned 59 this year and I am so happy to be 59 this year.
‘I feel so good about it,’ she admitted. ‘If you’re worried about aging, and I know that aging’s a thing, 59 is amazing.’
Hoda recalled closing her eyes to think about what life had given her and said: ‘I was thinking to myself, “I’m 59 years old. I have two incredible kids, I’ve got my mom here, my sister, my brother, my nieces, my sister-in-law,” and I kept thinking to myself, “I’m smiling. I’m closing my eyes and I’m smiling.”
‘And if you do that, you know that there’s a lot of good things ahead. I feel like this year’s going to be fantastic.’