Inside Hoda Kotb’s move to ‘affluent’ suburban town ahead of her ‘Today’ exit
Hoda Kotb is trading hectic mornings at the “Today” show for a slower-paced suburban life with her kids.
Page Six has learned that before announcing her exit from the morning news program after 26 years on the show, the beloved journalist recently bought a place in Bronxville, NY, to get a fresh start.
Home-building company EC Builders Inc. shared in an Aug. 19 Instagram post that they, along with Rona Schloss’ designs, were tasked with revamping Kotb’s new property in just a “couple of months.”
EC Builders Inc. said they did the “remodel project just on time for Hoda Kotb, and her family to get settled in with a couple of weeks to spare at the end of the summer.”
The broadcaster — who shares daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4, with ex Joel Schiffman — appeared thrilled with the outcome of the remodeling as she flashed a big smile while sitting on her couch.
Earlier on Thursday, when emotionally explaining her decision to leave “Today,” Kotb shared how her two girls are a big part of why she wanted to start this new chapter.
“I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have,” she said on the live show.
“I feel like we only have a finite amount of time. And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”
Bronxville appears to be a great neighborhood for Kotb to raise her daughters, as it boasts an award-winning school system and has two college campuses in town: Sarah Lawrence and Concordia.
Earlier this month, the mom of two, who previously resided on the Upper West Side, gushed to co-host Jenna Bush Hager about her new neighborhood.
“Everything changed like that. I have a whole new town and a whole new school and all the new things,” she said on “Today with Hoda & Jenna” at the time, per Realtor.com.
“We went for our first day of school, I carried a coffee, and I [was wearing] sneakers, and I walked my kids to school like normal people. It was awesome.”
Kotb’s picturesque English-style village has a yellow brick road running through the residential historic district. It’s surrounded by shops, restaurants and homes from the 19th century through the 1960s.
Bronxville is also considered an “affluent” community, landing at No. 8 in Bloomberg’s list of “America’s 100 Richest Places” in 2018.
However, a resident once told the New York Times, “It is not flashy or fancy. It’s bustling all day.”
Another added, “Everybody walks, even children, yet we are half an hour from Grand Central.”
Despite being outside of the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, it is still relatively close to the Big Apple.
Bronxville is about a 45-minute train ride to New York City and only a 35-minute car ride.
Although Kotb left her gig at “Today” and “Today with Hoda & Jenna,” we were told that producers are hoping to get the renowned news anchor to stay on the shows in “some capacity.”
“We have time to work it out,” a source noted after presenting the possibility that Kotb may continue conducting special interviews or doing her “Making Space” podcast.
