Fans and friends of longtime “Today Show” anchor Hoda Kotb were stunned on September 25, 2024, as the beloved broadcaster announced she’s leaving the NBC morning news show after nearly two decades.
Kotb, who turned 60 in August, choked back tears while revealing her decision on-air, surrounded on the morning show’s couch by “Today Show” co-hosts Craig Melvin, Al Roker, Jenna Bush Hager, Sheinelle Jones, and Savannah Guthrie, with whom she held hands as she shared her news.
“I do have some news,” Kotb shared. “So I was doing the math and I realized that I have spent 26 years at NBC. 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 it’s gonna have for me?’”
“I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new,” she said, adding, “I decided this is the right time for me to kind of move on. And so with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”
Kotb added that she looks forward to having more time for her two young daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 4.
Hoda Kotb Will Remain on the ‘Today Show’ Until Early 2025
Kotb first joined NBC News as a correspondent for “Dateline” in 1998, per the network. She joined the morning show team in 2007, co-hosting the lighthearted fourth hour with Kathie Lee Gifford. After Gifford left in 2019, Bush Hager was promoted to Kotb’s co-anchor.
In 2017, Kotb stepped into the co-anchor news role beside Savannah Guthrie after NBC abruptly fired Matt Lauer over sexual harassment allegations. She was officially instated as Guthrie’s co-anchor in 2018, NBC said.
Kotb will remain on the show until early 2025, she told viewers, saying that although she practiced her statement “so I wouldn’t cry,” it didn’t keep the tears from flowing — for her or her co-anchors.
“I’m gonna be here through the first of the year, past the first of the year,” she said, dabbing her eyes. “I’m gonna stay in the NBC family, but it’s kind of a big deal for me.”
Through her own tears, Guthrie, 52, told Kotb, “We love you so much, and when you look around and see these tears, they’re love, and you are so loved, and honestly I don’t think any of us can imagine –– we don’t wanna imagine this place without you.”
“But also,” Guthrie continued, “I just wanna 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 even bigger for myself in the great unknown.’ You have so much guts. You inspire me, I love you.”
Fans React to Hoda Kotb’s Decision: ‘We All Feel Like You Are Our Friend’
Longtime fans of the “Today Show” were stunned by Kotb’s announcement, flooding social media with reactions, including on an Instagram post Kotb uploaded the morning of her announcement, which simply said, “By the way, I’m wearing the smile you gave me.”
“I am crying along with you about your departure,” one fan wrote, “but I am so proud of you and your decision to spend time with your girls. We all feel like you are our friend and you will be so missed. ❤️😢”
Another quipped, “We understand, but don’t approve ♥️”
Someone else commented, “I am sobbing!!! I am going to miss you so much! You have been the sunshine to my mornings, and I will forever be grateful for you. You are such a beautiful soul, and we need more people like you on this earth! Thank you so much for making all of us smile every day! Best of luck on your next journey with your girls! ❤️”
“It’s 9am and I’m full bawling,” someone else wrote on Instagram. “We ❤️ you Hoda!”
X (formerly known as Twitter) also lit up with reactions to Kotb’s news, including from a viewer who tweeted, “@hodakotb has got me crying over here. What a great career and I don’t blame her for wanting to spend more time with her babies.”
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