Hoda Kotb's New Joy 101 Wellness App Is Here, & It's a "Retreat in Your Pocket"
The former TODAY co-anchor said about the app, "Joy is yours for the taking, and this is a place where you can find routes and paths to your own joy."
When Hoda Kotb made her exciting one-episode return to TODAY on May 28, the former co-anchor revealed what she's been working on since her departure: her new business, Joy 101, which has officially launched.
Kotb’s new wellness brand is an app, but also much more. Members will be able to attend courses with experts in areas such as sleep, meditation, breathwork as well as live chats with Kotb herself and even in-person retreats.
Read on to learn more about Joy 101, how to get the app, and who helped inspire Kotb’s wellness journey.
What is Joy 101, Hoda Kotb’s wellness brand?
Joy 101 is Hoda Kotb’s new wellness brand that includes an interactive app. On the Joy 101 app, you can access uplifting check-ins from the former TODAY co-anchor herself, a variety of daily practices, and a curated library of expert-led content in breathwork, meditation, positive mindset, sleep, personal growth, and more.
Speaking to TODAY, Kotb described Joy 101 as a “community” and “a retreat in your pocket,” adding that the brand will also feature courses and live events with wellness experts. You can already sign up to attend one of “Hoda’s Happiness Hour” live chats on the Joy 101 website. On June 11, 2025, Kotb will be hosting a virtual event with Savannah Guthrie and Jenna Bush Hager where they’ll chat about “joy, friendship, and all the good stuff in between.”
Kotb also revealed to TODAY that Joy 101 will host a festival in spring 2026 called “Joy Fest.”
In a video posted on the brand’s official Instagram page, Kotb said “Joy 101 is for anybody who kind of wants a little bit of a change” in their lives.
“This is for people who are tired of good enough, you want something more, something better,” she explained. “Joy 101 is kinda for everybody. I don’t care what your age is — you could be a teenager, you could be in your 90s. Joy is yours for the taking, and this is a place where you can find routes and paths to your own joy. It’s for everybody.”
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How can you get the Joy 101 app?
The Joy 101 is currently available for pre-order in the Apple Store. The app is expected to be available on June 11, 2025. After you pre-order the app, you’ll be notified when it officially becomes available, and it’ll automatically be downloaded onto your device.
If you’re an Android user, you’ll be able to pre-order the Joy 101 app on June 11, 2025.
In the meantime, you can also sign up for the Joy 101 newsletter to stay up to date on the latest news, events, and more from the community.
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How much is the Joy 101 app?
The Joy 101 app will have both monthly and annual subscription options. A monthly Joy 101 membership will cost $16.99 a month, while a yearly subscription is $79.
How Jenna Bush Hager helped kickstart Hoda Kotb’s wellness journey
The last several years of Kotb’s life have been filled with so many special moments. Beyond her long and successful career on TODAY, she also became a mother. She welcomed her first child, daughter Haley Joy, in 2017, followed by her second daughter, Hope Catherine, in 2019.
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“When I look back, that decade was rocking,” Kotb explained to TODAY on May 28, 2025, adding that while she had always felt “upbeat and good,” she started “feeling a bit meh” in her 50s. “Something wasn’t clicking,” she said. “I couldn’t find whatever that thing was that I was looking for, I couldn’t get it.”
Kotb, now 60, then shared that it was her friend and former TODAY co-host Bush Hager who inspired her to try something new. “It was actually Jenna Bush Hager. She said, ‘Why don’t you try something? Why don’t you try a breathwork class?’ And I was like, ‘Girl, I have been breathing a lot longer than you’ve been alive,’” she said with a laugh. “I didn’t even get it! She was like, ‘Just try it, just try it.’ And in the middle of this breathing class, I exploded into tears, and I literally freaked out. But I also felt clarity and calm and energy. Like I felt clear.”
Though Kotb said she was initially skeptical of certain wellness practices, they started to work for her. “I have to admit, I thought a lot of this stuff was real weird. I thought breathwork was woo-woo, I thought people who meditated just had free time,” Kotb said on TODAY. “I didn’t know that when you quiet the noise around, you can think and you can hear yourself. So little by little, I started trying new things and everything was like a new epiphany. I became a seeker — someone who’s looking, looking, looking. And I realized that I couldn’t find it in one place.”
Enter Joy 101. Kotb added she’s excited to nurture her new business and help others feel better. “[That] was my favorite part of the show anyway,” she said. “How can we lift people up? How can we lighten the load? What can we do?”
