Longtime NBC Today co-host Hoda Kotb has announced she will be stepping away from the show at the end of 2024 to spend more time with her two young daughters.
Kotb shared the news on Thursday’s (September 26) edition of the Today show, where her co-anchors, including Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker, joined her for the big announcement.
“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? And I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new,” Kotb said.
She continued, “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.”
Hoda Kotb has announced that she is leaving TODAY early next year. pic.twitter.com/sXuRsDbNnI— TODAY (@TODAYshow) September 26, 2024
Kotb has two girls she adopted with her ex, Joel Schiffman. Haley was born on February 14, 2017, and Hope arrived in 2019, with Kotb present at her birth.
“We love you so much,” Guthrie told a tearful Kotb. “And when you look around and see these tears, they’re love. And we don’t wanna imagine this place without you.”
Kotb also penned a letter to the Today staff ahead of Thursday’s episode, where she opened up about her decision to leave.
“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” she wrote, per Today.com. “I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful one. And you all are the reason why. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I’m feeling that so deeply right now. I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”
Kotb has been a fixture at NBC News for almost three decades, having previously worked at Dateline and as the co-host of Today‘s fourth hour with Kathie Lee Gifford and Jenna Bush Hager.
“My time at NBC has been the longest professional love affair of my life,” she continued. “But only because you’ve been beside me on this twenty-six-year adventure. Looking back, the math is nuts. 26 years at NBC News — Ten years at ‘Dateline,’ seven on the seven o’clock hour, sixteen on the ten o’clock hour.”
RelatedFans Beg Kevin Costner & Hoda Kotb to Date After Pair Looked ‘Cute’ Together on ‘Today’
“I’m picturing your faces and your families and all the ways you’ve lifted me up and inspired me,” she added. “That’s my heart singing. So many of my professional relationships have become some of my most cherished friendships.”
She also shared her thoughts on her Today co-stars, writing, “Savannah: my rock. Jenna: my ride-or-die. Al: my longest friend at 30 Rock. Craig, Carson, Sheinelle and Dylan: my family. Libby, Mazz and Talia: my fearless leaders. I will miss each and every one of you at Today desperately.”
Kotb revealed she will remain with Today through January 1, 2025, and will remain in the NBC family in an unspecified role.
More Headlines:
Stephen Colbert Fires Back at ‘Boring’ Trump After Ex-President Attacks Him OnlineHoda Kotb Announces She Will Be Leaving NBC’s ‘Today’ at End of 2024Cheryl Burke & Carrie Ann Inaba React to Anna Delvey’s Controversial ‘DWTS’ ExitRichard Simmons’ Family Accuses Housekeeper of ‘Greed’ in Battle Over His EstateSavannah Chrisley Blasts Judge After Mom Julie’s Resentencing Verdict
