Hoda Kotb tears up as she gets a special gift from her late father on-air

Little did Hoda Kotb know that she was in for a surprise when she went to her work's plaza on Wednesday. The host and anchor met up with an unknown woman who had a gift for her.

The present was linked to Kotb’s late father whose birthday had been on Tuesday. On the Today show, the star explained how she met the woman and what the gift meant.

Kotb’s father, Abdel Kader Kotb, 51, had passed away when she was in college. On Tuesday it was his birthday and the following day the host met a woman named Diane in the Today show plaza according to her narration on Wednesday’s episode.

Diane managed to catch Kotb's attention by holding up a sign that encouraged the star to 'ask about the bracelet.' On the sign, the woman had also listed her hometown as Morgantown, West Virginia.

“I just want to say thank you again. By the way, I called my mom, I called my brother, and I called my sister, and they couldn't believe this bracelet.”

Hoda Kotb, Today, May 30, 2018

The anchor assumed the bracelet was going to have something to do with raising awareness for a cause like autism awareness or breast cancer. In the studio, Kotb, 53, was with guest co-hosts for the day, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt actresses Ellie Kemper and Jane Krakowski.

When Diane showed the star the bracelet, it looked familiar to her. The woman then told her "I was your dad's secretary 46 years ago and he gave me this when he went to Egypt and came back as a present."

Surprised by the news, Kotb remembered and told Diane that the day before had been her father’s birthday. The former secretary gave the bracelet to the host and asked her to give it to her one-year-old daughter, Haley Joy.

Kotb was so moved by the kind gesture that she invited Diane and her daughter Megan up to Studio 1A to appear on the show. On the show’s episode, the star thanked Diane for the gift.

The former secretary shared that being able to give Kotb the present made her happy. She added that it meant a lot to her to be able to pass the gift on and she was thrilled to meet the anchor and be on the show.

Diane also revealed that Kotb’s father had been a sweet man. The star confessed to Diane that the secretary had made her day and she had cried upstairs in her office before cleaning up for the show.

She concluded the meeting by thanking Diane and her daughter for coming through. The anchor also revealed that her daughter was going to love the gift.

Kotb's parents were both from Egypt, and her father had worked as a fossil energy specialist.