It's no secret that adoption is very near and dear to both Sandra Bullock [1] and Hoda Kotb's hearts, which is why it's impossible not to tear up watching the pair have an emotional conversation about the factors that drew them to adopt [2]. Both moms shared the fears they previously had about their windows to become mothers potentially being closed, until they each were given signs that led them to their children — and for Hoda, one of those signs was Sandra herself.
"[Hurricane] Katrina happened in New Orleans, and I knew. Like, just something told me that my child was there. It was weird. It was very, very weird," Sandra told Hoda, adding that the process took three or four years from that point [3]. "But then I looked at [Louis], and I just said, 'Oh, there you are.' It's like he had always been there. It's like he fit in the crook of my arm. He looked me in the eyes, and he was just — he was wise. My child was wise. The beautiful thing that I was constantly told was, 'The perfect child will find you. You will find your child.'"
Meanwhile, in 2016, Hoda, mom to 1-year-old Haley Joy, was in Rio for the Summer Olympics and happened to Google Sandra's name. "I was in Rio and I was trying to figure out, like, did I miss my window? Am I too late? Should I have done . . . a bunch of woulda-couldas. All of a sudden, I Googled you. I just wanted to know. And we were from similar areas in Virginia, we're the same age. It was almost like hope . . . In Rio, after that, there was [the news of] that little boy in Syria. . . That image came on the screen, and I cried," Hoda tells Sandra of the exact moment she decided to finally fill out the adoption paperwork (after having a sweet conversation with her boyfriend, Joel Schiffman [5]).
Sandra hopes that Hoda isn't the only person she's inspired with her stories of adopting Louis, 8, and Laila, 5. "There are hundreds of thousands of children that are ready to be your child," she said, trying not to cry. "You're a forever parent the minute you accept the love of that child. And it's amazing to me how we can take away people's happiness by telling them that this is the box that you have to stay in. There is no box."
As the pair wrapped up their conversation, Hoda wiped away tears while telling Sandra she can't wait to see what her two kids will accomplish in their lives. "I don't even know how to say thank you, but thank you," Hoda says as both women get choked up again. She added, right before the cameras stopped rolling, "OK, I feel like this is therapy."