Hoda Kotb's Daughter Hope Has Dealt With Some Health Issues

In September 2024, Hoda Kotb devastated her fans by announcing that she was walking away from the "Today" show, after almost 20 years, to focus on her home life with her two daughters, Hayley Joy and Hope Catherine. However, when Kotb spoke to her "Today" show replacement, Craig Melvin, in May 2025, the beloved TV host revealed that she had not only made the crucial decision to spend more time with her kids, but also to focus on Hope's health following her Type 1 diabetes diagnosis. 

Kotb shared that like most kids with the chronic condition, Hope required "[constant] monitoring," (via Page Six). So, she could either show up to work daily and keep anxiously checking in on her, or she could stay at home and calmly care for her daughter instead. Kotb, of course, chose the latter. In a May 2025 chat with People, the former "Today" co-host offered some insight into Hope's diabetes treatment. "She was getting shots — four or five a day — every day for a year," she recalled. "Now she is getting them less frequently because we have some other means to get her what she needs, but there's a lot to it." 

Although the treatment interfered with Hope's sleep patterns and barred her from imbibing any sugar, she still put on a brave face and worked through it. After commending her kid for how she dealt with the treatments, Kotb asserted, "Diabetes is a part of her but not all of her." We wanted to better understand how the iconic TV personality could care for her youngest child while also looking after herself, so The List reached out to Dr. Kim Van Dusen, LMFT, RPT, a licensed child therapist and parenting expert, for her opinion. 

Dr. Kim Van Dusen exclusively told The List that parents like Hoda Kotb, who must care for children with chronic health conditions, should try to "practice self-compassion daily." The parenting expert continued, "Parents should try to take it one day at a time, so it doesn't feel as overwhelming, and focus on the wins, big and small, and what they can control and try not catastrophes when it feels out of their control." 

Dr. Van Dusen also believed that caregivers like the former "Today" host could benefit from doing a deep dive into their child's condition so that they could better advocate for their interests in the healthcare system, which can be tough to navigate. Moreover, the licensed child therapist stressed the importance of a parent having a support system they could rely on for empathy and advice. Thankfully, Kotb has tons of people she can count on. In 2023, the talk show host took a break from "Today" to care for Hope while she spent a few days in the ICU during a week-long hospitalization. 

Upon her return, Kotb teared up as she acknowledged how grateful she was for the hospital staff as well as her own inner circle, who showed up to support her daily. Meanwhile, in an October 2024 interview with People, Kotb confirmed that she also had a few helping hands at home. Ultimately, Dr. Van Dusen asserted that Kotb's kids, Haley and Hope, could also benefit from her creating a sense of normalcy for them. And she appears to be doing exactly that based on occasional Instagram posts featuring her two daughters.