Hoda Kotb Reveals She’s Been Texting a ‘Very Handsome’ Mystery Man After Making ‘Weirdest Connection’ on a Flight

The former ‘Today’ anchor revealed she recently reconnected with the “really cute” stranger after they first shared an emotional encounter in the air

NEED TO KNOW

• Hoda Kotb shared a story about meeting a man on a plane and reconnecting with him later

• The pair had an emotional connection during their first meeting and recently exchanged texts after crossing paths again
• Kotb has been single since 2022 and says she’s open to new chapters in her personal life

Hoda Kotb made an unexpected connection while traveling.

During a guest appearance on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle on Friday, Aug. 21, Kotb opened up about a man she met on a plane and revealed that the two have recently been back in touch.

Kotb’s longtime former co-host Jenna Bush Hager got the conversation started by putting her on the spot about her dating life.

“Well, everybody likes to talk about your love life. I’m going to ask you,” Bush Hager, 44, said.

“Well, here’s the thing,” Kotb, 62, replied, before making one thing clear: “This is not a real love connection.”

Still, the journalist had quite the story to tell. “I did meet someone on a plane when I was flying somewhere,” Kotb began, immediately piquing Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones’ interest.

“Oh, this is romantic! Should we try to find him?” Jones, 48, asked.

Kotb went on to describe an unusually emotional encounter with her fellow traveler. “It was the weirdest connection in the world. We were both crying,” she said. “It was strange. You know, when you have one of those [conversations where] everything is firing on all cylinders?”

According to Kotb, the man was equally taken aback by their instant connection. “He kept saying, ‘Is this a dream? Is this real?’” she recalled.

Though they went their separate ways after the flight, their paths unexpectedly crossed again. Kotb explained that she later traveled to Cannes with her lifestyle and wellness company, Joy 101, only to discover the same man in the audience.

“Our company went to Cannes so we could talk about our company, and he was in the audience, randomly,” Kotb said.

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“He goes, ‘Hi,’ and I said, ‘Hi,’” she recalled of their reunion.

For a moment, it appeared their chance encounters had ended there. “But then, it all kind of just went away,” Kotb said.

Bush Hager and Jones weren’t satisfied with that ending. “Wait,” Bush Hager said, as Jones chimed in, “Stop.”

“That’s the end of the story?” Bush Hager asked. As it turned out, it wasn’t.

“So, we have texted recently,” Kotb revealed, prompting excitement from her former colleagues. “Look. There are connections,” Kotb continued. “I don’t know what it is.”

The mystery man’s identity remains under wraps, but Kotb did offer a few more details. She described him as “really cute” and “very handsome” before confirming with a laugh that he is, in fact, single.

“Let’s go!” Bush Hager responded. Jones, meanwhile, compared the unexpected encounters to a classic rom-com, saying the story gave her “Notting Hill vibes.”

Kotb has not publicly dated anyone since January 2022, when she announced that she and her former fiancé Joel Schiffman had ended their eight-year relationship and engagement. The former couple continue to amicably co-parent their daughters, Haley, 9, and Hope, 7.

Last year, Kotb told PEOPLE that dating hadn’t been her main focus as she navigated several changes in her life, including moving her family to the suburbs and her daughters beginning at a new school.

“I’ve been really getting my sea legs,” she explained. “When it happens will be the time it’s supposed to happen.”

“When things are supposed to end, they end. And when things are supposed to begin, they begin. But you have to be wide open because if you’re not, it’s not happening,” she continued. “So I think that chapter is yet to come, but I know it’s coming. And I’m excited for that chapter.”

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