NBC’s “Today” co-anchor Hoda Kotb announced she would exit the program early next year during a tearful segment on Thursday.
NBC’s “Today” crew gathered on the on-set couch as Kotb shared the news that she would walk away from the Comcast-owned network’s flagship morning program in order to spend more time with her family.
“So, I was doing the math and I realized that I have spent 26 years at NBC,” Kotb said as she began to tear up and reminded herself to “be cool.”
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“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… I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new,” she continued. “This is the right time for me to, kind of, move on.”
Kotb then explained that she wanted to spend more time with her young children, who she said she had later in life.
“They deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have,” Kotb said.
“With all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world,” she added. “It’s kind of a big deal for me… I’ve been practicing so I wouldn’t cry, but anyway, I did.”
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Kotb, who said she would “stay in the NBC family,” previously worked on NBC’s “Dateline” and hosted the fourth hour of “Today” with Kathie Lee Gifford and then Jenna Bush Hager before permanently landing the co-anchor gig alongside Savannah Guthrie after longtime host Matt Lauer was fired over sexual misconduct violations.
Kotb famously sat by Guthrie during the 2017 bombshell announcement that Lauer had been terminated. Kotb helped “Today” get through the Lauer firing, filling his chair on an interim basis before being named his permanent replacement weeks later.
It is unclear who will replace Kotb in early 2025.
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