Hoda Kotb Recalls the Moment Haley Officially Became Her Daughter

Hoda Kotb is reflecting on the emotional moment she first learned she was becoming a mother.

The  Today Show co-host sat down with  Bethenny Frankel recently on an episode of her podcast  Just B , where the mother of two looked back on her journey to adoption and the fear she experienced when she realized she may have waited too long to become a mom.

"I think when you realize that that wasn't meant for you, or you think that at least initially, it's a terrifying part of life because you have to face it," the 58-year-old said. "I remember never saying out loud that I wanted kids, never, because it was too late."

She further explained that when you know it's too late for something, you never say you want it, because it's an expression of something you know you'll never get.

Things started to change one day when she was walking with a friend in the Hamptons. "Well, we never wanted kids," the friend said.

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Kotb then revealed to her, "I actually did." When the friend wondered why she'd never said it aloud before, the anchor replied, "Because it can't be." But after that, she said she saw "sign[s] that it was possible" wherever she looked. "Maybe there's a kid that needs me," she thought.

She went through the process of applying to adopt and was warned that it could be as quick as a few months or as long as years. Finally, one day, the phone call came.

"I was sitting there, and I was doing some phone call with some nutritionist about something and babbling on and on." But when her phone beeped, displaying the name of the woman she'd worked with at the adoption agency, she cut the call off early.

"I took a yellow pad out and I wrote, '11:55. This is the moment everything changes.' I knew it," she said. "And I took a deep breath and dialed the number, and I said, 'Ashley?' and she said two words to me. She said, 'She's here,'" referring to her oldest daughter,  Haley Joy, who is now 6.

Kotb mused, "I don't know what birth feels like, and I bet it was amazing, but this was really close." Through tears, she added, "I remember that feeling like it was yesterday."

Haley has since been joined by her younger sister,  Hope Catherine , 3.

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