Most women have that one special piece of jewelry that they never take off. They wear it to work, they wear it to the grocery store—heck, they may even wear it in the shower and while sleeping. Usually, it’s something that has a special meaning behind it.
One a recent episode of Today with Hoda and Jenna, hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager were answering fan questions when one conversation prompted them to discuss their favorite jewelry pieces, and why they mean so much.
Jenna always wears a green compass necklace, which she explained was special because her husband gifted it to her. “Henry gave that to me,” she said. “It’s a compass, and he just said, ‘Always keep your North Star straight.'”
Cue your awws!
Hoda had an equally adorable answer to what her special piece of jewelry meant—or should we say pieces?
The mother of two showed viewers her necklace that has the letter “M” dangling off of it. “‘M’ stands for Mom,” she said.
Hoda then pulled three other necklaces she layers together with the M necklace, explaining that they all have relevance to that one “M” piece, making them just as special.
“I have ‘Hailey’ and ‘Hope’ on (one of them). Then I have an ‘I love you Mama’ on this one,” she said. “All of them are my girls.”
Jenna had the same reaction everyone had—super touched! “Do you feel like ‘Mom’ is the best title?” she asked
“The ‘M’ is so me,” Hoda said. “That would be the initial I would want to wear if not my kids’ initials. ‘ Cause who knew that I was gonna get to wear that initial?”
Hoda was referring to the fact that she had always wondered if she was going to be able to be a mom. Sadly, treatment for breast cancer, which Kotb was diagnosed with in 2007 at age 43, had created infertility, making her unable to bear children of her own.
Heartwarmingly, Hoda and her fiancé, Joel Schiffman, adopted their first daughter, Haley, 4, in 2017, and then two years later, in 2019, adopted their second daughter Hope, 2. She wants to continue expanding her family, but her third adoption is on hold due to delays related to the pandemic.
We can definitely see why those necklaces hold such meaning for her! Check out the video below to see her beam ear to ear talking about them.
Do you have a special piece of jewelry you wear all the time? What’s its meaning?