Hoda Kotb recalls having to deal with the stress of not being able to have children following her cancer diagnosis in 2007.

The Today co-anchor spoke candidly in an interview with Good Housekeeping about motherhood, revealing that her diagnosis with breast cancer led to difficulty conceiving.

"I remember that my oncologist called, and we were talking about freezing my eggs. She basically said that given my age and [my breast cancer treatment], it was pretty close to a dead end. I was in my room and I just sobbed. I thought, 'Well, that's that, isn't it?' Like, you almost blame yourself. 'Why didn't I do this? Why didn't I do that?' So I just pushed it away, because the reality seemed impossible to bear," said Kotb.

She continued,

"How do you survive knowing you can't have what you desire and what you feel like you actually physically need?"

Kotb credited her ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman for adopting their daughters, now five-year-old Haley and now three-year-old Hope. She also mentioned that actress Sandra Bullock was a massive inspiration in making the decision.

"I don't think I would've adopted if it hadn't been for Joel. Having a stable relationship in that moment was really important. Once that fell into place, it didn't seem as scary to me. I also read about Sandra Bullock and the children she adopted. I'd always felt a weird connection to her...I called her, and we talked. She said adopting was the most important thing she'd ever done," said Kotb.

Once Kotb made the decision to adopt, she called Bullock once again, prior to picking up her daughter.

"...I called [Sandra] again. She said, 'It's about to begin!' Sometimes all you need is a model before [you realize], 'I can handle it,'" said Kotb.