Hoda Kotb is ready to start a new chapter after saying goodbye to NBC’s Today.
The TV personality announced in September 2024 that she was departing the morning show after nearly 30 years working for the network. “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 announced on-air. “And I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new.”
At the time, Kotb also noted that her role as a mother influenced her decision. “I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking they deserve a bigger piece of my time, the pie that I have,” she explained. “I feel like we only have a finite amount of time. And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.” (Kotb shares her daughters, Haley and Hope, with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman.)
Kotb will wrap up her run on Today with a special “Hoda-bration” episode on January 10, after which Craig Melvin will take over her role as Savannah Guthrie’s coanchor. Jenna Bush Hager will continue to cohost the fourth hour with a rotating panel of guest hosts until a permanent replacement is picked.
‘Today’ Show Hosts React to Hoda Kotb’s Surprising Exit
Today alums such as Katie Couric and Tamron Hall have gone on to host their own TV shows or move on to other series, as Deborah Norville did with Inside Edition. While Kotb has not announced any official upcoming projects, she has teased that the next era of her career could take place both on and off the small screen.
Scroll down to see what Kotb has said about her post-Today show plans:
Does Hoda Kotb Have Another Job Lined Up After ‘Today’?
Yes! Which leads Us to…
Will Hoda Kotb Remain on NBC After ‘Today’?
While announcing her exit, Kotb noted that she would be staying in the “NBC family” following her Today departure, but did not elaborate on the extent of her future with the network. She later told Page Six that she will be a special correspondent. “I think it’ll be kind of a Snoop-ish role,” she explained, referencing the rapper’s stint at the 2024 Olympics.
“I want to be a supporting character on a team that is already in place so that I’ll come in and just have a role there. And then I’m going to do my ‘Making Space’ podcast, which I enjoy and love so much,” Kotb said. “And for the Today show, I think we talked about doing something every four to six weeks, just a little something.”
Variety previously reported that Kotb would continue to make occasional appearances on Today and other NBC programs, in addition to hosting her “Making Space” podcast.
Will Hoda Kotb Venture Outside of TV After ‘Today’?
During an October 2024 episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna, Kotb revealed that she plans to dive into the world of wellness after bidding Today farewell.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever had a yearning, a calling, a desire, and you can’t quit it, even if you try, because working at NBC is safer. … But sometimes, you know there’s something else that you want to try in your life,” she explained. “And I have been so turned on by the wellness space because I realized what was happening to me. I tried different things and I noticed my body was calmer. I was getting sick less. I was feeling better. I was a better parent, a better friend, a better sister, a better daughter. And I thought, all these tiny things I was doing day after day were helping to change me inside.”
Hoda Kotb’s Most Memorable and Emotional ‘Today’ Show Moments
Kotb continued: “What I want to do is I want to live in wellness. I want to work in that space. I want to start things. I’ve got things that are percolating inside that I’m gonna, hopefully, have fully formed soon.”
Kotb shared specific details about her next career steps during a January 6 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. “I am starting a wellness app and company that will involve retreats and a podcast and all kinds of things that we can get together, do things that I love,” she revealed. “It’s not like going to Mexico with your girls, which is fun, but this is something that when you leave, you’ll go like, ‘Oh my gosh, I feel transformed. I feel different.’”
While the business venture is still “in the building process,” Kotb said the app is expected to launch in the spring.
How Will Hoda Kotb Spend Her Free Time After ‘Today’?
In addition to pursuing wellness, Kotb has continuously gushed about looking forward to more time with her kids after leaving Today. Since moving outside of New York City in early 2024, Kotb has gushed about experiencing suburban milestones such as walking her kids to school, taking them trick-or-treating and hosting holidays in her new home.
“I’m so excited because to have stockings hung in a place that you know will be the place where they’re gonna be hanging for years — we just, for the first time, decided where the tree was gonna go, and we know from this day on, this is where it’s gonna go — all these cool things,” she said on a December 2024 episode of Hoda & Jenna ahead of celebrating Christmas with her girls, her mom, Sameha, her sister, Hala, and Schiffman. “We decked our house out, like, all those kinds of neat things.”
