Hoda Kotb is leaving the Today show, but when? And when will we see her next on screen, given that she’s assured she’s not leaving NBC for good?
The longtime morning show anchor revealed her decision to leave Today on September 26. It was a tearful announcement made with her Today cohosts by her side and equally emotional.
“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 going to have for me?” Kotb said at the time. “And I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new.”
The mother of two added, “I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of the time pie that I have. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time.”
Kotb’s official last day has not yet been announced, but she said in her September remarks that she’d remain with the morning show programs through early 2025. She will continue working with the network after that, but in a different capacity that takes up less of her time. Her new role hasn’t been specified, but it could involve things like conducting special interviews for the network.
Kotb’s been with NBC for 26 years and on Today for 17. On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on October 7, Kotb said her 60th birthday party on Today caused an epiphany.
“When I turned 60, something weird happened, man,” she explained. “I turned 60 and we had this beautiful party at the Today show and I looked out at the sea of all the people who came and beautiful signs and so many well wishes. I knew in my heart like, ‘This is it, man.’ This is what the mountaintop must feel like. Like I’d never had that feeling before.”
Moving forward, Kotb wants to focus more of her time on her two young children — Haley, 7, and Hope, 5 — with whom she shares with ex-fiance Joel Schiffman. The girls were adopted in 2017 and 2019, respectively, and Kotb’s been open about Hope’s recent health struggles (she was in the ICU in 2023 for a sudden illness). The anchor told Jimmy Fallon that she told her daughters that her schedule is going to majorly free up in January or February.
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“I was telling them, ‘Mommy is going to be able to take you to school,’ and they go, ‘(Gasp) Wednesday?’ ‘No honey, not Wednesday.’ ‘Next week?’ I go, ‘No honey, not next week. Probably somewhere January, February,’” she shared.
Kotb moved out of New York City and into Westchester, New York with her children to begin their more relaxed life. In a new interview with People, Kotb said that Hope’s health is much improved and their new lifestyle is working for them.
“We’re in a place where Hope is thriving. She is improving, we’re watching her, and I think that as time goes on, we’ll have a better handle on it, but we’re already seeing great differences,” Kotb said. “We have really excellent care, I have people who are helping us out. I feel like she is finding steady footing.”
While her job at NBC makes her “financially secure,” the time lost with her daughters became too high a price. “I’ve been watching my kids and I was thinking to myself, I wonder what I’m missing?” she told People, adding, “I knew that I wanted this decade to be different. I looked at my time like a pie. I was like, this is how much time I get, and now what am I going to do with it and how am I going to carve it up? And I wanted it to be filled with more of them.”
She’s also looking forward to not having to wake up at 3:15 a.m. anymore.
“To have kind of a social life will be new for me,” Kotb said. “I went to a barbecue and I was up till 9 p.m. and I felt like I was on a bender. I go, ‘I’ve got to go.’ And everybody’s like, ‘Why?’ I go, ‘Because it’s 9 p.m.’ But I thought, you know what? I’m not going to be playing beat the clock all the time anymore.”
So, Kotb’s life after Today will largely be spent raising her daughters and going back to an easier, more leisurely schedule, with occasional returns to the network. More details on her next steps are sure to come in the future.
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