Hoda Kotb & Joel Schiffman Split After 8 Years Together

Hoda Kotb and fiancé Joel Schiffman are going their separate ways.

Kotb announced the news on the third hour of “Today,” revealing they are moving forward as friends and co-parents to daughters Haley, 4, and Hope, 2.

Addressing speculation about not wearing her engagement ring, Hoda said, "Joel and I have had a lot of prayerful and meaningful conversations over the holidays and we decided that we're better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple, so we decided we are going to start this new year… on our new path as loving parents to our adorable, delightful children, and as friends.”

Speaking with co-host Jenna Bush Hager, she said, "It's not like something happened. They say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason, or a season or for a lifetime. And I feel like ours was meant to be there for a season.”

Hoda noted it felt “awkward” to talk about, but reflected, “I feel like often we share the joyous pieces of our life, the engagement, all the fun… and then the difficult parts you just want to forget about. You want to erase them, you don’t want to share them because that’s not part of a pretty picture.”

She went on, "A lot of women know what this feels like, in this moment, to be changing course in life, and I feel really brave in this moment, which is a strange feeling to feel. But sometimes in your life, you just have to say the truth."

Hoda explained, "You can carry it and you can pretend... You ask yourself, am I just being optimistic? And sometimes you realize optimism is like trying to put a circle in a square — sometimes it just doesn't work, and it's okay. To be able to acknowledge it.” Looking relieved, she said, “I feel better that I said it."

Jenna told her, “I can’t think of anybody stronger.”

Hoda added of Schiffman, 63, "He's a great guy. He's a very kind and loving person, and I feel privileged to have spent eight years with him. We are both good and we are both kind of going on our way and our path. We'll be good parents to those two lovely kids."