Today’s Hoda Kotb on Staying Positive While Reporting on Coronavirus

After Today anchor Hoda Kotb teared up on air during a coronavirus-related interview with NFL player Drew Brees last month, it became very clear that everyone—including the news broadcasters we watch on TV every single day—is feeling incredibly anxious right now.

As several of her NBC colleagues work from home due to COVID-19 risks, Hoda has continued working from Studio 1A, and she recently opened up about how she’s staying positive. In a day filled with nothing but coronavirus news (it is her job to report on it, after all), her family helps her disconnect when she gets home from work.

“I feel like I have a news lane and then I have my life lane,” she told Jenna Bush Hager during a recent segment, adding that her “life lane” starts at 10 a.m. with her Today with Hoda & Jenna co-host and then continues with her family. “Kids make you live in the moment ‘cause they just do. And I’ve been trying really hard to listen to what they’re doing.”

Hoda also said she’s keeping Rabbi Steve Leder’s words in mind after he stopped by their show on Monday. “I came home yesterday and was thinking about all that’s going on and you can really let your mind go, but again, what Rabbi Leder said yesterday—I thought about this, too—think about your past trauma,” she said. “You felt this before. It’s been in another form. You lost a loved one. You’ve had an illness. You know what pain feels like. This is that same feeling.”

Keeping some sense of normalcy at home is also helping. “Doing mundane things and making them fun has been something we did,” she explained. For example, she has been playing a game with her daughter, Haley Joy, where they guess the color of shirts they ordered before opening their packages. “She’s like, ‘Is this an adventure?’” Hoda said.

In a recent video she shared to Instagram, she took her daughters Haley and Hope out for some fresh air. The adorable moment shows Hoda and Hope jokingly running away from Haley yelling, “Bye!” (and the giggles are exactly what is needed right now). “Little things,” Hoda said. “Living in the moment, are important, I think, for us.”