“I remember leaving the office and thinking, ‘That was not great.’”
Hoda Kotb has been living her life in slow-mo since leaving the “Today” show in January.
The former anchor and host, who celebrated her 61st birthday on Aug. 9, gave fans an update on her life as a mom of two in a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, published Aug. 25.
And she’s doing exactly what she said she would do seven months ago: spending time with her kids.
RELATED: Hoda Kotb welcomes special new addition to her family
While that still involves waking up at 4:30 a.m. every morning — a whole hour later than when she was hosting the “Today” show — Kotb now has much more time to do the things she always wanted to do.
“I’ve slowed everything down. I go on bike rides with my kids, we play tennis. Things that I never thought of,” she told the Wall Street Journal — adding that she’s finally able to eat breakfast with her kids.
“When I’m driving them around they’re telling me stories that I wasn’t in the car to [hear] before,” she added. “Haley came with me to the gym and she sat on the sled and I pushed it.”
Kotb was 33 years old when she joined NBC as a “Dateline” correspondent in 1998.
She spent 26 years with the network and 17 as a member of the “Today” show before announcing her decision to leave the show on Sept. 26.
“A new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie,” she wrote in a letter at the time.
Her farewell tour came to an end on Jan. 10 when she filmed her final episode as America’s favorite host.
Hoda Kotb describes herself as a ‘late bloomer in everything’
Kotb, who lives in Westchester County, NY, shares two adopted daughters — Haley, 8, and Hope, 6 — with Joel Schiffman, whom she was engaged to from 2019 to 2022, according to People.
Several months after leaving “Today,” she launched her wellness company and app, Joy 101.
“I feel like I’m a late bloomer in everything,” she told the Wall Street Journal. “I had my kids late. I was a CEO of a company at 60. I got my favorite job at the “Today” show in my late 50s.”
“At the same time, I feel like everything’s happening right on time,” she added.
While some of her most memorable achievements came later in life, she wants her fans to know that it’s never too late to “make changes in your life.”
And just because you carry around a metaphorical “heavy backpack” doesn’t mean you have to.
“I also want people to know there is a solution to how you’re feeling,” she told the WSJ. “Put down the heavy backpack. You don’t have to lug it. Let’s take 15 minutes, 30 minutes, whatever you got.”
Her advice echoes the words of wisdom she shared with the world on Jan. 3 ahead of her exit.
“I think it’s scary to restart. Somebody gave me some good advice once. They said when you are taking a leap or a jump, you have to imagine yourself on the other side,” Kotb said on the Today show at the time.
ALSO ON MOD MOMS CLUB: Vanessa Hudgens reveals what motherhood has taught her as she prepares for baby No. 2
"It’s almost like imagining what your new life would feel like when you repot or start over again,” she added.
