Jason Segel is just as emotional about Hoda Kotb’s Today show exit news as her NBC cohosts.
“I’m gonna miss you when you’re gone,” Segel, 44, told Kotb, 60, after talking about season 2 of his Apple TV+ series Shrinking on the Wednesday, October 16, episode of Today. “I just want you to know, these interviews have been some of the best of my whole career. So, I’m really grateful to know you.”
Kotb, who called Segel “my friend” at the beginning of their chat, was touched by the actor’s comments. The TV anchor appeared teary-eyed and choked up while throwing it to her cohost Savannah Guthrie.
“What’s happening over there? Wait, go back to the hug. There’s a big hug going on over there,” Guthrie, 52, said into the camera. Taking Kotb and Segel’s cue, Guthrie offered a sweet hug to her upcoming interviewee Eddie Redmayne. “See, take that Hoda and Jason.”
‘Today’ Show Hosts React to Hoda Kotb’s Surprising Exit
Before cutting to a commercial break, the camera panned to show Kotb and Segel sharing a sweet hug with each other.
Kotb shocked fans by announcing she was leaving the morning show after nearly three decades working at NBC on the September 26 episode of Today. “I just turned 60, and it was such a monumental moment for me when I turned 60 years old because I started thinking about that decade, like, ‘What does that decade mean? What does it hold? What’s it gonna have for me?’” she tearfully stated with her cohosts by her side. “And I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new.”
Kotb credited her daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, whom she shares with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman, for heavily influencing her decision to step down from the show. “I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking they deserve a bigger piece of my time, the pie that I have. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time,” she stated. “And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”
Kotb is set to depart Today early next year but will remain within the NBC family for her future projects.
It is unknown who will take Kotb’s spot as Guthrie’s coanchor and Jenna Bush Hager’s Today With Hoda & Jenna cohost. However, an NBC insider exclusively told Us Weekly last month that NBC’s Laura Jarrett is a top contender.
Hoda Kotb Is Overwhelmed by Fan Support After Today Show Exit News
“She’s the anchor of Weekend Today; she is a lawyer like Savannah,” the insider revealed. “She’s a darling at the Today show who has risen up very quickly. … The other option is they could move around anchors. They could put Craig [Melvin] with Savannah, or they could put Sheinelle [Jones] with Savannah.”
Earlier this month, Guthrie exclusively told Us that Kotb had talked about leaving the show with her “for years and years,” adding that she learned of Kotb’s decision “the Monday before the world found out.”
She added: “She called me and the first thing I said to her is, ‘I’m proud of you. I love you, you’re amazing. And it doesn’t matter where we sit, we’ll always be by each other’s side.’”
Hoda Kotb Recalls the Moment She Knew It Was Time to Leave ‘Today’ Show
Since announcing her Today exit, Kotb has received support from fans and celebrities alike. “When you made your decision, I said, ‘Yes!’ I said, ‘Yes!’ And my gosh, I grieve for all of us in this country who’s gonna miss you, and most of all, [Savannah],” Kotb’s pal Mariska Hargitay gushed on the October 1 episode of Today, noting that she’s “happy to step in any time.”
Henry Winkler, meanwhile, praised Kotb and Bush Hager, 42, for making “each guest feel like they are the only guest” on the Tuesday, October 15, episode of Hoda & Jenna. “And I just want to say on behalf of my wife, Stacey [Weitzman], and I, we are going to miss you, as America is going to miss you,” he told Kotb. “Thank you for always making me welcome. The two of you have a chemistry that is going to be very difficult to fill. That is the truth.”
