When Hoda Kotb Told Her Partner She Wanted to Adopt Again, He Said: "What Took You So Long?"

Hoda Kotb may have just welcomed her second daughter, Hope Catherine, through adoption, but the 54-year-old mom of two isn't taking adopting a third baby off the table just yet. In an interview with People, Hoda opened up about how she approached talking about Hope's adoption with her partner, Joel Schiffman, as well as her thoughts on baby number three.

In 2018, Hoda told Dr. Oz that before adopting her now 2-year-old Haley, she felt nervous about talking to Joel, who already had a grown daughter. "I remember I said to Joel, 'I want to ask you a question. I'm going to bring something up to you and don't answer me right now.' I said, 'Just let it marinate for a day or a week or as long as you need.' He said, 'OK.' I said, 'I can't hold it in, so I'm going to say it.' So I said, 'I'd like to explore adoption with you.' And he said, 'I don't need a day.'"

Then, nine months after welcoming their adorable daughter, Haley Joy, she approached him again.

"When I talked to [Joel] about two, I said, 'Hey, I want to talk to you about something.' I said, 'I really feel like [Haley] should have a sibling . . . just to go through life with. It's a long life she's going to live.' I want her to say, 'That's my brother, that's my sister,'" she said. "[Joel] said, 'What took you so long?' . . . We went to get Hope and they put Hope in my arms, and I looked at Joel's face and he was crying."

Now they're a happy family of four, and even though Hoda says she's learning to balance life with two kids, that's not to say that she wouldn't welcome another kiddo into the mix. She said, "I come from three, so I'd never close a door, ever, ever."