Hoda Kotb says she’s retiring from ‘Today’ show in emotional announcement
FILE - Hoda Kotb on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 -- (Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
NEW YORK - Hoda Kotb announced that she’s leaving the "Today" show.
The longtime NBC face discussed the decision on Thursday morning while sitting alongside her colleagues. She noted how her 60th birthday in August prompted a decision for change after spending 26 years with NBC in different roles.
"I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new," Kotb said.
"I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs, and I thought, like, 'This is what the top of the wave feels like for me.' And I thought it can't get better, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on," Kotb added, choking up.
Kotb first joined NBC News as a correspondent for "Dateline" in 1998, and became a co-host of the fourth hour of "Today" in 2007 – first sitting alongside Kathie Lee Gifford and later Jenna Bush Hager. Kotb has co-anchored the first two hours of "Today" with Savannah Guthrie since 2018, filling in after Matt Lauer was fired amid sexual harassment allegations.
She also announced the news in a letter to staff, according to Today – writing in part: "As I write this, my heart is all over the map. I know I'm making the right decision, but it's a painful one. And you all are the reason why. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I'm feeling that so deeply right now. I love you and it's time for me to leave the show.
In the letter, she also mentioned a desire to spend more time with family, including her daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 5.
"I saw it all so clearly: my broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie," Kotb wrote. "I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited."
Kotb said she’ll remain with Today through Jan. 1, 2025, and "is going to stay in the NBC family in an unspecified role."
She thanked many of her co-workers, including Bush Hager and Al Roker: "Savannah: my rock. Jenna: my ride-or-die. Al: my longest friend at 30 Rock."
"It's kind of a big deal for me," Kotb said on the show through tears, according to Today. "I've been practicing so I wouldn't cry, but anyway, I did."