Who Is Hoda Kotb's Fiance, Joel Schiffman?

Today show anchor Hoda Kotb surprised the world on November 25 when she announced her engagement on the air to her co-hosts. 

"I have to tell you something," she said on the show. "A friend of mine, a friend of ours, asked me to let you guys in on a secret. I'll give you her initials. Her initials are Hoda Kotb, and she's engaged."

Kotb's new fiance is Joel Schiffman, her longtime beau. According to his LinkedIn profile, Schiffman works as Head of U.S. Defined Contribution and Insurance Sales at Schroder Investment Management where his job is to "oversee the existing subadvisory and insurance businesses and [be] responsible for building out the defined contribution business."

Kotb revealed that she hid her engagement ring while coming into work in the morning and put it on just before making the surprise announcement. She said that Schiffman proposed while on a tropical beach.

"He was like, 'I have something else I would like to say,' and he said some beautiful things and then he got down on one knee," she said. "Then he said, 'Would you be my wife?' ... I was totally shocked. He had a good poker face."

While they're finally tying the knot, the couple has been serious for quite some time. "I'm going to be with Joel until my last breath," Kotb, who was previously married to Burzis Kanga from 2005 to 2008, said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in September 2018 (via Us Weekly). "I know that."

Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman have been together since 2013 after being set up by Today With Hoda & Jenna executive producer Joanne LaMarca Mathisen.

Kotb and Schiffman have two adopted daughters — Haley Joy joined the family in 2017, and Hope Catherine did the same in 2019 (via CNN). Kotb revealed on the show that she and Schiffman are "still trying to figure out" how to tell their daughters about the engagement.