Sandra Bullock Tearfully Bonds with Hoda Kotb About Adoption: 'You're a Forever Parent'

Sandra Bullock and Hoda Kotb have a very special experience in common.

The two women bonded over their adoption journeys during an interview for the Today show, airing on Monday. “You don’t even know who you’ve inspired,” Kotb, who welcomed 15-month-old daughter Haley Joy in February 2017, said to Bullock, who is mom to daughter Laila, 5½, and son Louis, 8.

“Hundreds of thousands of children that are ready to be your child, you’re a forever parent the minute you accept the love of that child,” the Ocean’s 8 star responded as she broke down in tears. “It’s amazing to me how we can take away people’s happiness by telling them this is the box that you have to stay in. There is no box. There’s no box.”

Bullock, 53, welcomed Laila at 3½ years old in December 2015 from Louisiana and adopted Louis at 3½ months old in January 2010, also from Louisiana.

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Bullock recently spoke about her eldest child, describing him as a very protective big brother.

“He wanted his sister and he knew she was his sister, but now there are moments when they want to kill each other,” the mother of two shared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, noting that Laila is more likely to get irritated with her brother. Joked Bullock, “But I like that about her. I like that she’ll take a knife and cut a guy.”

The Oscar winner also chatted about her advocacy for adoption for InStyle‘s June 2018 issue, calling for a greater understanding and treatment of women’s rights over their own bodies and an end to the phrase “my adopted child.”

“Look: I’m all for Republican, Democrat, whatever, but don’t talk to me about what I can or can’t do with my body until you’ve taken care of every child who doesn’t have a home or is neglected or abused,” she explained, getting emotional. “It makes me teary-eyed.”

She added, “Let’s all just refer to these kids as ‘our kids.’ Don’t say, ‘my adopted child.’ No one calls their kid their ‘IVF child’ or their ‘Oh, s—, I went to a bar and got knocked up child.’ Let’s just say, ‘our children.’ ”

The Today interview will air on Monday, June 4.