Hours after "Today" show star Hoda Kotb announced some joyful news — she's just adopted her second child, daughter Hope Catherine Kotb — another important lady in her life weighed in on the surprise.
Kathie Lee Gifford left "Today" barely two weeks ago after an 11-year run alongside Hoda on the show's fourth hour, but on April 16, she couldn't help but gush about her former colleague's incredible news.
"Hoda's a mama again. I'm thrilled about that," Kathie Lee told the Fox News Channel's "The Five" during a taping at Nashville's Wildhorse Saloon in what E! News points out was Kathie Lee's very first TV appearance since leaving "Today."
"I knew that was coming," Kathie Lee added, as reported by USA Today, "I just didn't know when it was gonna happen."
Kathie Lee — who recently revealed she was moving to Nashville after wrapping "Today" — was visiting "The Five" to talk about "The God Who Sees," a short film she directed in Israel featuring Nicole C. Mullen. The 12-minute project is described as "a modern oratorio" and can be seen on YouTube.
E! News also reported that Kathie Lee is enjoying her new post-NBC life. She told the show's hosts that right now, she wants to "hang out with people that love God, love my wine, love music, love our country."
Hoda phoned into "Today" on Tuesday morning to make the baby announcement. She also shared that her elder daughter, 2-year-old Haley Joy, whom she's also raising with boyfriend Joel Schiffman, is excited to be a big sister.
Haley, she explained, "was trying to feed [Hope] raspberries [at breakfast], and I was like, 'Not yet, babe…' She's literally walking around saying, 'I'm a big sister!' She did try to crawl into her bassinet."
Hoda — who got a visit from colleagues Jenna Bush Hager and Savannah Guthrie at home later on — said her heart is bursting: "You know what's funny, you think that you're full, that's exactly how I felt with Haley and Joel and everything and Joel and I were standing there when they hand you the baby… and in that moment I was like, 'My God, my heart just grew… it's amazing. I can't believe it's happening."