Hoda Kotb Admits Maternity Leave Is "Not a Vacation"

From Good Housekeeping

• Today show star Hoda Kotb is coming back to the NBC morning program really soon.

• Hoda announced return details on Instagram and opened up to the Today cast about how much she missed them.

• The co-anchor has been on maternity leave since mid-April, when she adopted her daughter Hope Catherine.

On Monday, some of Hoda Kotb's fans were convinced the longtime Today show anchor wasn't coming back from her maternity leave. Earlier today though, Hoda confirmed that they were all worrying for no reason — she is ready to get back to work, really, really soon.

When exactly? Hoda's first day back will be on Tuesday, September 3 after Labor Day. As she explained on a recent Instagram post, she's super "excited" about it, even though she's enjoyed spending more time with her boyfriend, Joel Schiffman, 2-year-old daughter Haley Joy, and newly adopted 4-month-old Hope Catherine.

"Look, I'm not gonna lie, this probably has been the best summer of my entire life with these two kids," she declared while announcing her return. "I've loved every second of it. But you know what else I'm gonna love? Coming back to you guys. So I am gettin' ready. I'm setting my alarm, 3:15 a.m. Okay? We'll be back in business. I love you guys. I cannot wait to see you."

When phoning into Tuesday morning's show, Hoda talked even more about looking forward to returning to work, especially her getting-ready time with Savannah Guthrie in the makeup room.

"There hasn't been a second that I haven't loved (with the kids)," she told Savannah, Sheinelle Jones, Dylan Dreyer, and Craig Melvin. "I loved it all. But the other big realization I had on this maternity leave is how much I love you guys."

She continued: “I always knew how awesome our Today show family is, but you don’t really realize it until you step away for a minute and then you think to yourself, ‘Wow, I get to go back to that.’”

Hoda has been on maternity leave since mid-April, a gap of time she recognizes "is longer than most people are allowed to take."

"I’m on-my-knees grateful for that, because it matters to me. It’s not something everybody can do," Hoda told People while reiterating that maternity leave "is not a vacation." "I worked harder on maternity leave than I did at work. You’re up at the crack of dawn and you’re up all hours. Stay-at-home moms should be called work-at-home moms."

But it's something she wouldn't trade for anything.

"It’s the best work. It’s the best work I did in my life. I don’t know if my kids will remember it, but … I will always remember."

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