Hoda Kotb’s Crush on Kevin Costner Is Real, But Sources Say He’s Just Using Her for Ego Boost

Hoda Kotb has the hots for Kevin Costner, but sources claim the Yellowstone stud is heartlessly leading her on! Hoda, 60, and the 70-yearold actor met up at the recent Super Bowl in New Orleans, where her pals say he was laying it on thick with some fabricated charm.

Hoda proudly shared a photo of the two on Instagram, showing them smiling broadly and leaning in close with their arms wrapped around each other.

“Hoda laughs and toys with Kevin, but the crush is real, and she gets a thrill whenever they bump into each other, as they did at the Super Bowl,” spills an insider. “Kevin throwing his arms around her and hamming it up is a little bit wrong in some people’s view.

“They think it’s pretty cheap of him to flirt and say things he doesn’t mean!” Hoda’s former Today colleagues knew how excited Hoda was talking to Kevin on the show last year and chipped in with catty comments about her Instagram post. Jenna Hager Bush wrote, “We have been waiting for this moment,” while Savannah Guthrie joked, “New couple alert.” But others in Hoda’s circle didn’t see any humor in the situation.

Since Kevin’s split from ex-wife Christine Baumgartner was made official last year, he’s become one of Tinseltown’s most eligible bachelors. And Hoda’s pals don’t see him ever getting serious with her. “He’s messing with her head and wasting her time,” fumes the insider. “He flirts with her and tells her how gorgeous she looks and how they should MOSTL WHAT OD DOT get together for lunch, but it’s not going to happen. She’s just not Kevin’s type.”

According to a source, Costner’s “type” tends to be blonde and willowy like Christine, or exotic like Jennifer Lopez, who he recently flirted up in Aspen.

Since divorcing handbag designer Christine, Kevin briefly dated 50-year-old singer Jewel. Meanwhile, Hoda, a mom of two, has been heartbreakingly single since ending her engagement to financier Joel Schiffman in 2022.

“Kevin is saying yes to more invites than he has in years and rubbing shoulders with pretty socialites,” notes our spy. “He’s enjoying being single again, so Hoda really has no chance.

“He’s all talk and no walk where she’s concerned. He enjoys having Hoda fawning all over him. To him, it’s a real ego boost. But the relationship isn’t going anywhere, and the sooner Hoda accepts that reality, the better!”