Hoda Kotb. Nathan Congleton/NBC
After 17 years, Hoda Kotb is officially bidding farewell to the Today show.
Kotb, 60, appeared on her final episode of the NBC morning show on Friday, January 10. The day started off on a tearful note as she cried after watching a video package of Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Craig Melvin and Carson Daly singing her praises. In return, she shared her own kind words about her colleagues.
“Carson, you’re like the secret sauce on the show, man. Without you, the show doesn’t hum,” Kotb gushed during the show’s second hour. “Al, you’re my first friend here, the first person I met. When I got sick, you were the first person who walked into the room and said I was gonna be OK.”
She continued: “Savannah, oh, my God. You’re my person, you’re my person. You know who shows up for everybody? This girl. … She’s in the room, she’s always in the room, and I love you. Craig, I’m so happy for you. You’e earned this, you own this, and come Monday at 7 o’clock a.m., I am gonna be dead asleep. But you’re gonna be fantastic. You’re gonna bring it home. Craig, you’re gonna be so good. You and Savannah are gonna be magic.”l
News of Hoda Kotb’s Today show exit is bittersweet for her cohosts. “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?” Kotb, […]
In September 2024, Kotb announced she was departing the series. “I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new. This is the right time for me to move on,” she explained at the time, adding that her daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 5 — whom she adopted with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman — contributed to her decision.
Kotb joined NBC News in April 1998, serving as a correspondent for the national network and Dateline before becoming the host of the fourth hour of the Today show in September 2007. Kathie Lee Gifford stepped in as her cohost from April 2008 to April 2019, before Jenna Bush Hager took over the role. After Matt Lauer’s sudden exit from the Today show following sexual harassment allegations, Kotb was named coanchor in January 2018 alongside Guthrie, 53.
Kotb elaborated on her exit in a letter shared on Today.com in September 2024.
“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” she noted. “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 went on to detail why she ultimately chose to say goodbye.
“I’ve been weighing this decision for quite a while — am I truly ready?” she continued. “But, my sixtieth birthday celebration on the Plaza felt like a shift. Like a massive, joyful YES, you are! I saw it all so clearly: my broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie. I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited.”
Nathan Congleton/NBC Hoda Kotb’s nearly 20 years on the Today show have been full of many memorable moments. The TV personality announced in September 2024 that she would be departing the iconic morning show after 26 years on NBC, 16 years as a Today cohost and seven years as Savannah Guthrie’s co-anchor. “I just turned […]
Kotb concluded by confirming that she would stay involved at NBC in some capacity. “Happily and gratefully, I plan to remain a part of the NBC family, the longest work relationship I’ve been lucky enough to hold close to my heart,” she gushed. “I’ll be around. How could I not? Family is family and you all will always be a part of mine.”
In November 2024, NBC announced that Melvin, 45, will take over as Guthrie’s Today coanchor starting on Monday, January 13. Meanwhile, a rotating lineup of guest hosts will fill in on Today With Jenna & Friends until a permanent replacement for Kotb is selected.
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