Hoda Kotb Shares Her Pre-Date Pump-Up Song and How She Stays True to Herself (Hint: 'Not Get a Salad') (Exclusive)

“I want to be myself, so he knows it’s me,” the host of “Danas” tells PEOPLE about going out with potential suitors

Hoda Kotb doesn’t hold back when it comes to dating.

Two years after breaking off her engagement to Joel Schiffman, Today Anchor, 59, told PEOPLE at the 8th annual Friends of the Hudson River Park Committee luncheon in New York City on Friday that she doesn’t want to stand out while dating.

“You know what? I just decide before every date that I’m going to be exactly who I am,” she shared. “I’m not going to pretend. I’m going to eat what I normally would and I’m not going to get a salad. That’s not for me. So I want to be myself, so he knew it was me.”

Hoda Kotb walks at the 27th Annual Webby Awards held at Cipriani Wall Street on May 15, 2023 in New York City.

Nina Westervelt/Variety via Getty

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She noted that she doesn’t have a “hype-up routine” before a date, but “I usually have a cocktail, maybe put on some music… ‘Lil Boo Thang’ usually puts me in a good mood. So I’ll start there and then I’ll get out.”

The reporter also revealed that she’s on a third date with a man previously set her up with by co-host Jenna Bush Hager, calling it her ideal way to meet potential suitors.

“A set-up, because it means that someone kind of knows you and kind of knows them,” she explained. “I like that a little more than random person number three.”

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The mother-of-two also dismissed her advice for getting back on the dating bandwagon, saying: “If you sit in your house and order Domino’s Pizza, you’re not going to meet anyone. Alright?”

“You just have to get out, and who cares if it’s a good day or a bad day, it doesn’t even matter,” she continued. “Go out, learn a little, have fun and be open. Like, just do it. You get one ride around the sun. Might as well go out and eat with someone. They pay, who cares? Like, go and do it.”

Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on “Today.”

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

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In January, Kotb told co-host Hager that she had “only gone on two dates” since splitting from Schiffman. “Well, I think it’s time to change that,” her co-host replied.

The conversation came after Sofía Vergara noted that dating in New York has fewer pitfalls than Los Angeles. (The reason? Not everyone is famous.)

Hager thought it was time for both Vergara and Kotb to give love another chance. “The inflection in my voice sounded too dramatic. But I think it’s time to change that for you. And as for Sofia, I work for both of you,” Hager shared.

“Yeah. You know what? There’s a lot of people going into brand new and exciting chapters,” she replied. “And they’re all exciting chapters. So yeah, I’m okay with that.”

Schiffman, 65, popped the question to Kotb in 2019, but the couple called off their engagement in 2022 after eight years together. The couple have daughters Hope (4) and Haley (7).

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Today with Hoda and Jenna airs weekdays at 10 a.m. ET on NBC.

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