Selena GomezThe desire to become a mother despite her fertility problems is something Hoda Kotb is closely related to.

“I think it was something she always dreamed of. You know how you write your story in your head? (Like) ‘I’m going to get married sometime here or there or at this age and then I’m going to have kids’ and you can kind of picture it. And I think that was probably the hardest part, you know you can see it,” Kotb, 60, said on the Tuesday, Sept. 10 episode. Today with Hoda and Jenna in response to Gomez’s revelation that she could not carry her own children.

“But because she’s so mature and just cool, she said there are other ways – she had something to grieve for a while – but then she realized there are other ways to have a family,” Kotb explained. “And she says she plans to start with surrogacy or adoption.”

Kotb adopted her daughters Haley (7) and Hope (5) in 2017 and 2019 respectively with her ex-fiancé Joel SchiffmanNoting that “families come in all different shapes and sizes,” Kotb explained that a person’s children are “one hundred thousand percent your children,” regardless of how they were adopted.

Related: Hoda Kotb’s family album with daughters and loved ones: Pictures

Hoda Kotb has often gushed about how her loved ones have shaped her life – especially her daughters Haley and Hope. The Today host became a mother when she adopted her little ones with then-partner Joel Schiffman in 2017 and 2019 respectively. The former couple got engaged in 2019 after six years of dating (…)

The Today In the August 12 episode of her podcast “Making Space,” the US personality spoke about her own struggles with fertility, revealing that she was unable to have children due to her battle with breast cancer in 2007.

“I remember even the doctor at the time saying to me, you know, one of the side effects, especially at my age, so in my 40s, early 40s, is that I won’t be able to have children. And I just thought, ‘Wait a minute, what?'” she said. “So this thing has not only limited my life, but it’s destroyed a dream.”

Gomez also confirmed that she cannot carry children due to health reasons. Vanity Fair Cover story Monday, September 9. “I have a lot of health issues that would put my life and the baby’s life at risk,” she said. “It was something I had to grieve for a while.”

The Only murders in the building The star was diagnosed with lupus in 2013 and bipolar disorder in 2018. She also underwent a kidney transplant in 2017.

Related: Everything Selena Gomez said about having children and becoming a mother

Selena Gomez isn’t letting her mental health issues stop her from planning to become a mother in the future – but they have changed her outlook. “This is a very big, big, present thing in my life,” Gomez told Rolling Stone in November 2022 when discussing her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. “But I’m destined to have it, I (…)

Gomez told the outlet that she is “feeling much better” now with the news. “I feel blessed that there are wonderful people who are willing to do surrogacy or adoption, which are both great options for me,” she said. “I’m really grateful for the other options for people who desperately want to be mothers. I’m one of those people. I’m excited to see what that journey is going to look like, but it’s going to look a little different. At the end of the day, I don’t care. It’s going to be mine. It’s going to be my baby.”

Earlier this year, Gomez said TIME that she had planned to adopt a child at the age of 35 if she had not found the right partner. However, in December 2023, she confirmed that she and the music producer Benny Blanco had been secretly together for six months.

Gomez continued Vanity Fair that her family doesn’t pressure her and Blanco, 36, to take the next steps in their relationship. “We always make sure to protect what we have, but there are no rules,” she explained. “I want him to always be himself. I always want to be myself.”