Hoda Kotb just announced her exit from the Today show — but when is her last day?
Don’t worry Today fans, Kotb still has three months left on the morning show.
“Because I’ll be working through the beginning of 2025, there’s plenty of time to talk about what’s ahead for all of us,” Kotb wrote in a letter to Today.com on Thursday, September 26, after breaking the news on-air with coanchor Savannah Guthrie. “But one thing I know for sure right now is this: everything’s going to be just fine.”
During the live broadcast, Kotb, 60, explained how a milestone birthday made her reconsider her plans for the future.
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“I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new,” she explained. “I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs, and I thought, ‘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 wants to spend more time with her daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, which contributed to the decision.
“Obviously I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time,” she noted. “And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”
Kotb confirmed that she will remain on Today until January 1, 2025, before transitioning into an unspecified role at NBC. “It’s kind of a big deal for me,” she shared while getting emotional on screen. “I’ve been practicing so I wouldn’t cry, but anyway, I did.”
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The news anchor has been at NBC News for over three decades. She began cohosting Today with Guthrie, 52, following Matt Lauer’s exit. Kotb also hosted the third hour with Kathie Lee Gifford for years. Jenna Bush Hager joined Kotb in 2009 after Gifford’s exit.
Guthrie was visibly moved by Kotb’s announcement, saying, “We love you so much. And when you look around and see these tears, they’re love. You are so loved. We don’t want to imagine this place without you.
She continued: “So it’s complicated because we love you so much, and we don’t want you to ever go. But also I just want to say I am so proud of my friend. You have guts. For someone to leave at the top of their game, to leave something that’s wonderful that you love, where it’s easy and comfortable and beautiful and fun, and say, ‘But I dream bigger for myself into the great unknown.’ You have so much guts. You inspire me. I love you.”
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Hager, 42, also was moved by the shake-up. “It’s not over,” she said. “I’m going to be showing up at your house like the stalker you are to Zac Brown. I will be there on your doorstep, and we are your friends forever.”
Sheinelle Jones, meanwhile, reflected on the way Kotb has inspired those around her.
“Hoda has a relationship with every single person on this couch in her own way, so I think we’re all just kind of wrestling with it inside,” she shared. “But we also know what a dynamic mom you are, and presence you are. And your whole movement with wellness, you are going to change the world. And we know it.”
