Hoda Kotb Announces Engagement to Joel Schiffman: 'I Was Totally Shocked'

Hoda Kotb is engaged!

During Monday's episode of Today, the 55-year-old morning show anchor revealed that her boyfriend of six years, Joel Schiffman, popped the question during their tropical vacation.

"I have to tell you something that a friend of mine -- a friend of ours -- asked me to let you guys in on a secret," Kotb told her co-hosts. "... I'll give you her initials. Her initials are Hoda Kotb and she's engaged."

Kotb excitedly held out her hand with a newly acquired rock on that finger, leading her fellow hosts to ask how she kept it a secret throughout the broadcast.

"I had it in my bra!" Kotb exclaimed of the ring. "I just put it on."

Kotb went on describe 61-year-old Schiffman's romantic proposal, which took place after a dinner on the beach.

"Joel proposed to me. It was a good trip," she said. "I was totally shocked... We went on our usual vacation. We ended up having a little dinner on the beach. And I was like, we were done with the dinner, I was eating the churros, I looked in the bottom of the bowl, and he was like, 'I have something else I'd like to say.' And he said some beautiful things and then he got down on one knee and then he said, 'Will you be my wife?' I said, 'Yes!'"

As for how the couple's two daughters -- Haley, 2, and Hope, 7 months -- took the news, Kotb quipped, "How are we going to explain it? 'Your parents are going to get married.'" 

"We're still trying to figure out that part of how exactly to explain it," she said.

"It was a fun weekend," she added with a smile.

Shortly before the announcement, Kotb took to Instagram to share a message that read, "And suddenly you know... it's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings."

"Happy Monday! Good day for a fresh start xo," she captioned the post.

During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last year, Kotb said that she knew she'd "chosen the right man" after he wholeheartedly got behind her wanting to adopt.

"I had thought about having kids for a long, long time. But one day I was sitting with my boyfriend and I said to him, 'I'm going to have to talk to you about something because I can't push it down anymore, push it away... Don't answer now. Take a day, take a week, take some time. But I want to talk to you about this,'" she recalled at the time. "And he said, 'OK, what is it?' And I said, 'I would like to explore adoption with you.' He looked at me and said, 'I don't need a day.'"

ET spoke with Kotb in March 2018 and she opened up about potentially marrying the financier.

"I have never teased a marriage -- the internet is teasing a marriage," she said. "I met the right man at the right time in my life, and Joel is the perfect fit for me. The fact that I found the man I've dreamt of and the life I've dreamt of at this stage in my life should let other women know sometimes if you wait, it comes later."

"Joel is not only a great life partner, he will be with me the rest of my life," Kotb continued. "I have no doubt he's an unbelievable father to Haley. He literally comes home and says, 'Is she sleeping? Oh no, did I miss her?' And when she says, 'Dada' and stumbles over to him, I don't know that there's a sweeter sound."

Congrats to the happy couple!

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