Hoda Kotb and Joanna Gaines. Photo:
Helen Healey/NBC via Getty; Rob Kim/Getty
Kotb shared new photos with interior designer Gaines ahead of the launch of her new wellness project
Hoda Kotb’s “repotting” era might involve some shiplap.
The former Today co-anchor took to Instagramon Wednesday, Feb. 5 to tease her new project, sharing that it will involve former HGTV star Joanna Gaines.
“Remember I was talking about repotting—- gotta take first steps,” the 60-year-old journalist captioned a new series of photos. “We have something fun cooking! Come along on the great adventure…..Stay tunedI love @joannagaines.”
In the images, Kotb is seen hugging and working with Gaines, 46, as they look around an empty office-style space, study a computer and pose with a team, all while cameras are rolling.
Kotb exited the Today show after 17 years in January, sharing that she wanted her daughtersHaley, 8, and Hope, 5, to get more of her time. However, the longtime TV personality made it clear that she is not retiring, teasing a future role in the “wellness space.”
“I kind of got hooked in the wellness space, like a couple of years ago,” Kotb shared on The Kelly Clarkson Show in January. “I started doing stuff that I thought seemed woo woo and weird, and then all of a sudden as I was doing it, I was like, ‘Wait, I feel calmer, I feel better.’ ”
At the time, Kotb added that she plans to start a wellness app and a company, and the new endeavor will involve retreats and a podcast.
“We can get together, do things that I love, and when you’re done, it’s not like going to Mexico with your girls, which is fun, but this is something that when you leave, you’ll go like, ‘Oh my gosh. I feel transformed. I feel different,’ ” she told Clarkson. “So I’m in the building process of that.”
Hoda Kotb and Joanna Gaines.
Hoda Kotb/Instagram
The longtime journalist previously teased that she plans to launch her new business this spring.
As for Gaines, she made a name for herself alongside her husband Chip Gaines on HGTV’s Fixer Upper. The renovation team later parlayed that success into their own Magnolia Network channel and brand.
Like Kotb, Joanna is also the bestselling author of several books. In fact, she was interviewed by Kotb several times on the Today show as well as other podcast formats prior to this mystery partnership.
Hoda Kotb and Joanna Gaines on the ‘Today’ show on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty
Kotb officially exited the Today show on Jan. 10, after breaking the news to the staff back in September.
“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” she wrote in a letter to staff of the NBC morning show. “I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful one. And you all are the reason why. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I’m feeling that so deeply right now. I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”
