Hoda Kotb Is Not Dating Her Driver Eddie, Jenna Bush Hager Confirms on ‘Today’
She’s single and taking her time to mingle! Hoda Kotb is not dating her driver, Eddie, despite what some fans assumed of their relationship. Today cohost Jenna Bush Hager confirmed their platonic relationship on the show, noting that Hoda is still on the search for love.
“We should just say, Eddie drives you [to work],” Jenna, 42, said when Hoda, 59, recalled chatting about the WNBA draft with Eddie during their drive the morning of Tuesday, April 16. “People thought he was your boyfriend for a minute.”
According to Jenna, even Eddie himself has heard of the rumors that he and Hoda are an item.
“I saw him yesterday and I was like, ‘What’s up, Eddie?’ And he was like, ‘Can you believe it?’” Jenna recalled. “And you love him, you’ve worked with him for many years.”
Hoda chimed in and said that she calls her driver “my Eddie,” but Jenna made it clear to viewers that everything was on a platonic level. “He’s your Eddie, but that didn’t mean he’s your romantic Eddie,” Jenna said, before adding, “Any of y’all who thought that she had found ‘The One,’ she’s still looking.”
The rumor mill surrounding Hoda and Eddie began when the Today host shared a video of Eddie playing Beyoncé’s “YA YA” in the car on the way to work.
“Eddie picks me up every day … And he just made my day,” Hoda wrote alongside the post on April 9. “Check out my experience this morning. This happened five minutes ago … Lucky me. I love you eddie xo.”
Hoda followed up the video post with a selfie of her and Eddie, sending fans yet again down a romantic rumor rabbit hole. But, as Jenna proved, no dice as these two are purely friends.
That’s not to say, however, that Hoda hasn’t been looking at the dating pool. She revealed to Kelly Clarkson while appearing on her self-titled show in March that she went on her first date in two years. The identity of that special someone remains private as of publication.
Of course, fans of Today know that Hoda has been single ever since she and ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman called it quits in January 2022 after eight years together. Sharing the news on the fourth hour of Today, Hoda said at the time that she and Joel realized they were much better off as friends.
“We decided we are going to start this new year on our new path as loving parents to our adorably delightful children and as friends,” she said. Hoda and Joel share daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4.
