Hoda Kotb Has ‘Constant’ Worries About Daughter Hope, 7, Amid Her Battle With Type 1 Diabetes

Hoda Kotb is opening up about her daughter’s battle with Type 1 diabetes.

Speaking with USA Today in an interview published Tuesday, September 29, Kotb, 62, discussed monitoring 7-year-old Hope‘s health.

“Everyone’s got something,” the former Today anchor said. “I worry about my youngest daughter, who has diabetes. I am concerned. I go to sleep, I watch my phone all night to see what her numbers are doing. I wake up and see. That’s just constant. That is how it is.”

As for how she handles the stress of raising a daughter with a serious health condition, Kotb, who adopted Hope and daughter Haley, 9, with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman, says she turns to her wellness brand, Joy 101, and the company’s annual retreats, which allow her to reset, recharge and be the kind of mom she wants to be.

“I can go in there and do a breathwork [session] and release everything I’m carrying. And now I go back to Hope and [daughter] Haley, tank full, let’s go,” she explained. “But we’re all caring for someone who needs a lot of stuff, or we’re going through life stuff, and I just feel like get on your knees and then go climb the mountain!”

Kotb revealed Hope’s diagnosis in May 2025, during her first appearance on Today after leaving her long-running cohosting role in January of that year. The TV personality explained that, after a severe health scare and an ICU hospitalization in February 2023, doctors were able to diagnose Hope with the chronic autoimmune condition.

Hope’s diagnosis and Kotb’s desire to spend more time with her daughters played a role in her decision to step away from the morning show.

In an interview after her return to Today, Kotb told People that she not only wanted to, but “needed” to be there for Hope, who sometimes had four or five insulin shots administered a day before doctors found her a more streamlined treatment.

“Whenever she needs anything, and it can happen at night, multiple times, I’m up — I’m up up up,” Kotb told the outlet. “But I would never, ever want Hope to one day grow up and say, ‘Oh, my mom left her job because [of me].’ It wasn’t that alone. But if you look at it cumulatively, it was a part of that decision.”

That hasn’t changed how she describes Hope, with Kotb telling People: “She is a happy, healthy, rambunctious, amazing kid, and we have to watch her.”

“Diabetes is a part of her, but not all of her,” Kotb added. “I hope it shapes her but never defines her.”