Hoda Kotb is opening up about the experiences she’s had with mom-shaming since becoming a mother in 2017.
During a recent segment on their show, Today, the 56-year-old and her co-host, Jenna Bush Hager, discussed the backlash they have experienced in regards to their parenting. For Kotb, she’s gotten the most heat for deciding to have kids in her 50s.
“I got a physical letter in the mail, a letter that came to my address, from a woman who wrote: ‘Who do you think you are having kids at that age?’” she said. “I literally read it and I thought, ‘Oh my god, I can't believe someone put a stamp on it and sent it.’”
Kotb continued: “I felt horrible in that moment because there is something that bothers you inside about that. But then I thought, who would take a piece of paper and a pen and write like that and fold it and put it in the envelope with a stamp and go to the trouble of mailing it? It took effort.”
Of course, Bush Hager quickly came to her friend's defense. “That stranger who took the time to write something so mean, she doesn't even know what you're like as a mother. She's never seen you hold those little girls. That infuriates me. And I think why it's so hard is that as parents we're already questioning ourselves constantly.”
Kotb adopted her first child, Haley Joy Kotb, in 2017 and welcomed her second baby girl, Hope Catherine Kotb, earlier this year, announcing the exciting news over the phone during an April episode of the show.
Don’t listen to the haters, Hoda.