- In September, Hoda Kotb announced she’d be leaving ‘Today’ after nearly three decades with NBC News.
- Over the weekend, Hoda hosted a Making Space event at the Miraval Austin Resort and Spa.
- Now, she’s looking ahead to working in wellness and spending time with her kids.
During nearly every weekday morning since 2007, Hoda Kotb has woken up at three in the morning to host Today at seven. And after announcing that she’ll be stepping away from the talk show next year, Hoda is looking forward to sleeping—until 5:15 a.m.
“I’ve already got my routine! I’ve been planning it,” Hoda exclusively told Women’s Health while attending her Making Space wellness event at the Miraval Austin Resort and Spa in Texas over the weekend. “I’m waking up at 5:15. I’m going to SoulCycle at 5:30—they have one in my town. I’m going to do it until 6:30. I’m going to get home. I’m going to feed my kids breakfast. I’m going to walk them to school with a Yeti mug full of coffee with heavy cream in it. I’m going to walk home slowly.”
After Hoda gets home, she’s going to do work in her at-home office for a couple of hours before grabbing lunch with friends.
And what work will that be, you might be wondering? Well, after her Making Space event, she’s going to remain the wellness realm with a mysterious project.
“I’m going to be in this space, and it hasn’t been fully formed,” she says. “There’s no meat on the bones, but we are working towards some things that I think are going to be really exciting and fun. It’s about making wellness accessible to someone who’s never tried it.”
After years of steering clear of so-called “woo-woo” practices, Hoda has been diving deep into self-care. She starts off every morning with nearly an hour of breathwork and meditation; she also works out three to four days a week, either with the Peloton or playing tennis. (She has a home gym, but prefers to work out with people so she’s “accountable.”) Since her move to the suburbs, she’s done a lot more walking around town with her daughters—Haley Joy, 7, and Hope Catherine, 4—which she calls “amazing.” And during the afternoons, Hoda carves out an hour—from 3 to 4 p.m.—for her “me time.”
All of this combined, Hoda says, gives her the “energy and clarity” to take on the day.
“We think by spending time on ourselves or being selfish, and that’s a myth,” she says. “[This way,] you’re a better mother, you’re a better partner, you’re a better wife, you’re a better friend.”
And after taking a step back from Today, Hoda is looking forward to getting to know herself—without work involved.
“If not for an alarm clock, when would you wake up? What is your body’s normal rhythm, and when does it want to wake up and go to bed? I’d like to know that,” she says. “I am so excited about being the mom who goes on the field trips. I am going to be the one who picks my kids up. I’m just excited about all of those things. It’s just a way of recalibrating life.”
Charlotte Walsh (she/her) is an associate news editor with Women’s Health, where she covers the intersection of wellness and entertainment. Previously, she worked as a writer at The Messenger, E! News, and Netflix. In her free time, she enjoys reality television, tennis and films starring Nicole Kidman.
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