Hoda Kotb is speaking out after she received a letter from a stranger who criticized her decision to become a mother in her 50s.
During a segment on Today with Hoda & Jenna, the 58-year-old talk show host discussed her experience adopting her two daughters, Haley (6) and Hope (3). Kotb revealed that her motherhood journey has been overwhelmingly positive, but she’ll “never forget” the letter she received shortly after becoming a mom.
“I got a letter addressed to me in somebody’s handwriting to my house,” she said. “And it was something along the lines of, ‘How dare you bring a child into this world at your age? Don’t you know what you’re doing to that child?’”
Hotb admitted that it struck a chord, adding, “It took my breath away because that actually was my ouch. I was scared. Is this something that is smart for me to do? Am I helping, or am I ultimately going to be harming?”
“I thought about that. And when I read it, I thought, ‘Someone took a pen and sat at a table and put it, wrote that down, and got a stamp and mailed it,’ went through all that trouble to say that to me,” Hotb continued. “This took care and time and research.”
The letter made her think of her own parents, who left a lasting impact on her. “And so, when I was feeling terrible, because I was, my dad passed when I was in college,” she said. “And I remember thinking, we have our parents for a period of time. I know the foundation he left.”
Kotb added, “I know it was worth every second of that time. But it’s real, it can hit you in a place that you’re the most vulnerable.”
Haley and Hope are lucky to have you, Hoda.
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