Hoda Kotb has revealed that she and her three-year-old daughter Hope secretly buy meals for strangers whenever they are eating at a restaurant together.
The Today co-anchor, 58, opened up about their special tradition while interviewing Mel Robbins for the third season of her podcast, ‘Making Space with Hoda Kotb,’ which dropped on Monday.
‘Yesterday I took my daughter to dinner because we have a date,’ she explained. ‘And when we go out, we pick somebody in the restaurant who we’re gonna buy their meal.’
Hoda Kotb, 58, shared that she has her three-year-old daughter Hope pick out a stranger to buy a meal for whenever they’re out to eat at a restaurant
Kotb (pictured out to eat with her mother, sister, and daughters) opened up about their special tradition on her ‘Making Space’ podcast, saying they keep their generosity a secret
Kotb always lets Haley choose who they are going to treat that day, but she insists that they keep their generosity a secret.
‘My daughter gets to pick because we don’t say a word. Nobody ever knows. That’s how we do it,’ she said.
The mom detailed how her youngest child goes about picking the person they’re going to buy a meal for.
‘So she goes, “OK, Momma, how about her? She’s sitting by herself.” I said, “That’s the one.” So we do our thing and we leave,’ she explained.
However, Kotb admitted that her daughter has a hard time with the secrecy part.
The Today host admitted that Hope has a hard time with the secrecy part, but tells her youngest daughter ‘that sometimes we just do things to help’
Kotb’s five-year-old daughter Haley used her chore money to buy ice cream for their neighborhood friend Mo (pictured) last summer
‘She always says, “Can we say something?” I said, “No, we can’t. That’s the magic. Like, it’s like a magic trick,”‘ she said.
The journalist wants to teach her children the importance of being kind and generous without expecting anything in return.
‘I tell my daughter that sometimes we just do things to help,’ she said.
Kotb also has a five-year-old daughter Haley, who had a heart of gold just like her younger sister.
Over the summer, the mom proudly shared how Haley used her chore money to buy an ice cream cone for a man named Mo, who runs a neighborhood restaurant.
‘She took her money out of her Ziploc and she got the biggest hug,’ she recalled. ‘Afterwards, we sat down — Hope, Haley, me, and Mo and he said, “Do you know why this cone is extra special today?” And Haley said, “Why?” And he said, “Because it’s my birthday.”‘
Kotb spent her first Christmas as a single mom with her mother, sister, and her daughters last month following her split from her ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman
The mom and her daughters later rang in 2023 with jewelry designer Jennifer Miller
‘I was just thinking, like when you do something kind, the universe cooperates,’ she added. ‘Like it happened to have been his birthday on that day with the ice cream?’
Kotb noted that Hope is just as sweet and generous.
‘Hope does kind things daily,’ she said. ‘If you had one blueberry in your hand… and you said, “Can I have that?” She would say, “Yes, please, this is yours.” Like she’ll give it away.’
Kotb co-parents her daughters with her ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman. They were together for eight years before she announced their split in January 2022.
Last month marked her first holiday season with her daughters as a single mother of two, and she shared photos of their celebrations on Instagram.
Kotb and her daughters spent Christmas with her mother, Sameha, and her sister, Hala, before ringing in 2023 with jewelry designer Jennifer Miller.
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