'Not Get a Salad') (Exclusive): Hoda Kotb Shares Her Pre-Date Pump-Up Song and How She Stays True to Herself (Hint

"I want to be myself, so he knows this is me," the 'Today 'anchor tells PEOPLE of dating potential suitors

Hoda Kotb isn’t holding back when it comes to dating.

Two years after her engagement to Joel Schiffman ended, the Today anchor, 59, told PEOPLE at Hudson River Park Friends 8th Annual Playground Committee Luncheon in New York City on Friday that she doesn’t want to put on airs while dating.

“You know what? I just decide before every date, I'm gonna be exactly who I am,” she shared. “I'm not gonna pretend. I'm gonna eat what I would normally and not get a salad. That's not for me. So I want to be myself, so he knows this is me.”

She noted that she doesn’t have “a hype-up routine” before a date but “I usually have a cocktail, maybe play music... 'Lil Boo Thang' usually puts me in a good mood. So I'll start there and then go out.”

The journalist also revealed she has a third date “coming up” with a man that co-host Jenna Bush Hager previously set her up with, calling it her ideal way to meet potential suitors.

"A setup, 'cause that means somebody kind of knows you and kind of knows them," she explained. "I like that a little bit better than random person number three."

The mother of two also dished her advice for returning to the dating pool, saying, “If you sit in your house and order Domino's Pizza, you're not meeting anybody. Okay?” 

“You got to just kind of go out, and who cares if it&# -

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39;s a good day or a bad day, it doesn't even matter,” she continued. “Go out, learn a little, have some fun and be open. Like just do it. You get one ride around the sun. You might as well go out and eat with someone. They're paying, who cares? Like, go do it.”

In January, Kotb told co-host Hager had “only got on two dates” since her split from Schiffman. “Well I think it’s time for us to change that,” her co-host responded.

The conversation came after Sofía Vergara noted that dating in New York City has less pitfalls than Los Angeles. (The reason? Not everyone is famous.)

Hager thought it was time for both Vergara and Kotb to give love another chance. “The inflection in my voice sounded too dramatic. But I think it is time for us to change that for you. And for Sofia, I’m on it for both of you,” Hager shared.

“Yeah. You know what? There are a lot of people who are entering brand new and exciting chapters,” she responded. “And these are all exciting chapters. So yes, I agree with that.”

Schiffman, 65,popped the questionto Kotb in 2019, but the pairbroke off their engagementin 2022 after eight years together. The pair share daughters Hope, 4, andHaley, 7.

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Today with Hoda and Jenna airs weekdays at 10 a.m. ET on NBC.

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