Hoda Kotb Addresses Rumors She’s Replacing Kelly Clarkson on Her Daytime Show

In fact, she added that her upcoming appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show is “just for fun.”

Instead, the former anchor has her sights set on her newest project: Joy 101, a new company which will include an app, live events and a subscription newsletter dedicated to promoting, wellness, mindfulness and, of course, joy.

“I’m putting all my time and effort into what I hope will make people feel better, which was my favorite part of the show anyway,” Hoda explained. “How can we lift people up? How can we lighten the load? What can we do?” 

These days, all it takes is being home with daughters Haley, 8, and Hope, 6, in order to lift Hoda up. After all, the mom—who recently shared Hope’s diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes—is now able to witness so much more of her daughters’ daily routine.

“It’s really cool to just realize that there’s so much more to life,” she explained to People in an interview published May 28. “I wasn’t able to bear witness to my kids’ daily lives because of what I was doing. I got to see Haley sing ‘What a Wonderful World’ at 9:15 a.m.—I would have missed that.”

She further reflected, “I used to think life was the big things, but it really is all the stuff that happens in between.”

And her kids are happy to have her around, too.

“Sometimes I’m right there working in my office, and they’ll run up to the window and wave to me and throw up a heart [with their hands],” she recounted. “They’re fine because they want me to be here, they’re just happy to see me, and then they’ll go off and play.”

For more of Hoda’s sweetest moments with Hope and Haley, keep reading.