Hoda Kotb Says She's Ready to Be 'Set Up' by Jenna Bush Hager: 'I Trust You'

The Today host announced her split from longtime love Joel Schiffman in January after eight years together

Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager
Photo: Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Hoda Kotb trusts Jenna Bush Hager to help her find her perfect match.

During Tuesday's episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, Kotb, 58, acknowledged how Bush Hager, 40, is "really good at setting people up." To that, the former first daughter hinted that she "kind of" wants to "set person in pink up," referencing Kotb and her all-pink ensemble.

"Yeah, I want to set you up," said Bush Hager as Kotb replied, "Okay, I want to be set up."

Both Bush Hager and the studio audience were stunned by Kotb's response. To that, Bush Hager eventually said: "I have chills!"

"That is a challenge that I am going to go for," she added.

Explaining her reasoning for wanting Bush Hager's assistance, Kotb said, "You know why? Because you know me, and I trust you."

She continued, "If you didn't know me, even if we were anchoring and pretending, then I wouldn't say yes. But you do know me."

"Wow ... I have chills," Bush Hager replied. "I've got a lot to do. I've got to go, I've got to go!"

Kotb's revelation comes months after she announced her split from longtime love Joel Schiffman in January. The former couple — who share daughters Hope, 3, and Haley, 5, — had been together foe eight years, even getting engaged in November 2019.

"Joel and I have had a lot of prayerful and meaningful conversations over the holidays and we decided that we're better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple," she previously said on Today with Hoda & Jenna. "So we decided we are going to start this new year ... on our new path as loving parents to our adorable, delightful children, and as friends."

"It's not like something happened. They say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason, or a season or for a lifetime. And I feel like ours was meant to be there for a season," she added.

Joel Schiffman and Hoda Kotb
Joel Schiffman and Hoda Kotb in 2018. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Kotb recently told PEOPLE that she and Schiffman had "a beautiful time together." But she still believes her perfect match is out there.

"I think someone who meets me now will meet me for real," she said. "You know what I mean?"

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Fortunately for Kotb, fellow Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie is also eager to help her find love as well — and to do so, she aims to screen her colleague's future dates.

"That person would have to be spectacular," she told PEOPLE in May. "I don't want to go through my application process. The screening will be detailed. My clipboard, 10 pages [of] question."

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