“Today” show lifestyle contributor Jill Martin is back on the dating scene after ending her engagement, she tells Page Six.
“I had an interesting Zoom date recently that lasted for hours … that is the new way of dating these days and it is actually a great way to truly learn about someone,” Martin, 44, said, adding that she “still believes in fairytales.”
Martin spent lockdown with her family at her Long Island home after giving up her apartment in New York City. Her parents, Georgette and Marty, moved in with her for a few months and she even threw a wedding shower for her brother Jonathan and his new wife, Hara.
But the pandemic proved to be a breaking point for her own relationship, as she and fiancé Erik Brooks split after nearly three years.
Martin admitted, “I am somebody who wakes up looking for bright spots and silver linings, but it’s definitely been challenging over the past eight months.
“It’s existentially been a reset for so many people going through some level of trauma. For me, I broke off an engagement. I had sickness in the family — my 84-year-old uncle was on a ventilator for two and a half months with COVID and he came off it. My family has been through a lot, but so has everyone. I don’t know one person who has not somehow been impacted.”
At the beginning of lockdown, Martin set up a home studio in her house and said she finally learned to calm down.
“I have done a 180 and changed as a person,” she said. “My friends can attest to that. I was working 24/7 — I would go to QVC, then ‘Today’ and then back to QVC and then to report from MSG. I was running, running, running and I never stopped.”
Meanwhile, Martin, who has been open about freezing her eggs and hoping to one day start a family, said that watching her co-worker Hoda Kotb adopt two children has been inspiring.
“Hoda has been such a beautiful influence on so many people and her kids are just as dynamic and wonderful as her,” she said. “I had previously never thought of adoption for myself; I still have a lot of options.
“I still believe in love — many loves – and I’m excited for my next chapter.”
But for now, Martin is gearing up to host a new show, “Holiday Steals and Deals with Jill Martin.” It will air on NBC’s streaming service Peacock on Monday. She’ll be joined by her own family, “Today” hosts and celebrity guests including Olivia Culpo, Tracy Morgan and Kathie Lee Gifford.