Hoda Kotb is giving fans her side of “Gift-gate.” The Today show co-anchor said that during a recent interview with Jessica Simpson, she thought the singer mentioned something “about a gift” when she was talking about how happy she is for her ex-husband, but Hoda now hints she may have been mistaken.
The awkward scene with Jessica’s ex-husband Nick Lachey and his wife Vanessa Lachey took place after Hoda gushed about the couple’s alleged friendly relationship with the fashion designer during an interview for their upcoming Netflix dating show Love Is Blind . After Hoda revealed that Jessica told her that Nick and Vanessa “sent me something beautiful when we had our children,” the current Lachey wife awkwardly admitted they had done no such thing.
“It wasn’t us, but thank you, whoever sent it,” Vanessa said before admitting she doesn’t even know Jessica’s address. Nick looked completely confused during the conversation.
To muddle matters even further, during a sitdown with Andy Cohen last week, Jessica said she “didn’t know” where that story came from.
In a new interview with Cohen on Bravo’s late-night show Watch What Happens Live, Hoda explained what actually went down during her sitdown with Jessica, who stopped by the NBC morning show to promote her memoir, Open Book.
After Cohen said it sounded like it was Jessica who started the “gift” story to begin with, Hoda weighed in with her side.
“Here’s the thing, when I was interviewing Jessica she was talking about on what great terms everyone was. Like, ‘I’m so happy for them. We have children. They have children.’ And she mentioned something, I thought, about a gift,” Hoda said. “So I was like, ‘Oh, so everybody’s happy.’ So when they came I was like, ‘Isn’t that cool everybody’s friends?’ And then that wasn’t the way it was received.”
Hoda said she “didn’t understand what was going on,” with Nick and Vanessa’s reaction.
“I actually was confused,” the Today show star admitted.
After Hoda’s awkward interview with Nick and Vanessa went viral, some people bashed Hoda for asking the 98 Degrees singer about his first wife with Vanessa sitting next to him. Others blasted Vanessa for being petty and insecure when it came to her husband’s ex. Some speculated that Nick may have sent Jessica and her husband, Eric Johnson, a gift behind Vanessa’s back.
Both Nick and Jessica have both admitted they no longer keep in touch. Following their divorce in 2006, the two singers parted ways for good and both remarried, so it’s no surprise they don’t swap gifts anymore. Nick and Jessica each have three kids with their new spouses.
