Hoda Kotb exited the Today show in January, but that doesn’t mean that was the last fans will see of her and former cohost Jenna Bush Hager.
“I’m a never-say-never person,” Kotb, 60, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, May 28, at her Joy 101 launch event red carpet. “I also can imagine working with Jenna again one day.”
Kotb revealed that a future project with Bush Hager, 43, isn’t off the table. “I’ve thought about that because she and I say that, secretly, we’re like, ‘One day. I’ll see you in a couple years. I’ll see you in a couple years,’” she said. “I feel like there’s something there.”
Kotb and Bush Hager cohosted Today With Hoda & Jenna for more than five years, following Kotb’s partnership with Kathie Lee Gifford from 2008 to 2019. Kotb was also a coanchor for Today alongside Savannah Guthrie starting in 2018. (Kotb initially joined NBC News in 1998 as a correspondent.)
It’s been four months since Kotb bid farewell to both Bush Hager and Guthrie, 53, as well as the rest of her Today family to focus on her daughters. She reunited with the NBC anchors on Wednesday while visiting 30 Rockefeller Center to promote her latest project: a wellness platform and app called Joy 101.
Hoda Kotb Pays Jenna Bush Hager a Visit at ‘Today’ After Exit
During her return, Kotb said, she felt at peace with leaving but also like she was still part of the gang. “It felt like coming home in the best way. And I felt so loved and so embraced. I still can’t believe what it felt like,” Kotb told Us of her brief reunion. “I think this was the best day ever.”
Bush Hager was overwhelmed with emotion after seeing Kotb back in her old stomping grounds, telling Us on Wednesday, “I was expecting to cry and I was a little bit like, ‘Don’t cry, don’t cry.’ But then it’s what can I do? It’s, like, the energy.”
Bush Hager — who now cohosts Today With Jenna & Friends with a rotating cohost — said that Kotb “inspires her.” She gushed, “I’m so proud of her, and I feel like that was part of the tears. They were happy tears.”
Kotb was also in awe of Bush Hager after watching her in action. “I watched Jenna, and I marvel,” Kotb told Us, “There’s nobody like her. Nobody. Nobody.”
Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager’s Best BFF Moments Over the Years
While Bush Hager loved seeing Kotb back at the NBC studio, she explained to Us that for now she wants her to spread her wings.
“She’s living her [dream]. That was actually the biggest lesson and what was actually kind of amazing about it is we’re actually really proud of what we built over the last five months,” Bush Hager said of her current TV gig. “I miss her and I’m cheering for her in a million different ways.”
Bush Hager added, “It felt so good to have her back. And also, I’m so proud of what she’s building. When somebody says bye, they say bye for a reason.”
Jenna Bush Hager Compares Hoda Kotb’s ‘Today’ Exit to Being Dumped
Guthrie, meanwhile, exclusively told Us that Kotb always has a place within the Today family. “Her being there was like she never left, truly. I looked over at her, I was like, ‘There’s Hoda,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s Hoda because she’s [such a] fit,’” she explained. “She’s our family. This is home for her. It always will be home for her.”
Guthrie noted that it was “exciting” to speak with Kotb on the plaza and check in with her in front of her fans. “It was fun to have her sitting on the couch to get to ask those questions. So now everyone’s in on what Hoda’s been up to,” she added.
