Hoda Kotb Is Planning to Leave NBC Today show.
The NBC anchor announced the news on the program Thursday morning, adding that she will remain co-host of the program until early 2025 before moving on to a new role at NBC News.
“I just turned 60, and it was a monumental moment for me when I turned 60, because I started thinking about that decade like, what does that decade mean? What does it bring? What does it mean for me? And I realized it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and try something new,” Kotb said, flanked by her Today Show co-stars on the couch in Studio 1A.
“I had my kids late in life, and I felt like they deserved a bigger slice of the time pie than I do,” she added. “I feel like we only have a limited amount of time.”
“We love you so much, and when you look at it, when you see these tears, it's love, how loved you are. And honestly, I don't think any of us can imagine, we don't want to imagine this place without you,” Kotb co-host Savannah Guthrie said after the news was shared. “I just want to say I'm so proud of my friend. You have the courage, for someone to leave at the top of their career, to leave something that's amazing, that you love, where it's easy and comfortable and beautiful and fun and safe… You have so much courage. You inspire me.”
Kotb was a co-host of the NBC program Today with Guthrie since 2018, and has been with NBC News for 26 years as both a correspondent and anchor. She launched the Today fourth hour of the show, co-hosted by Kathie Lee Gifford and Jenna Bush Hager.
“26 Years at NBC News – Ten Years at Date lineseven to seven, sixteen to ten. I imagine your faces and your families and all the ways you have lifted me up and inspired me. It's my heart singing,” Kotb wrote in a memo to Today personal. “Many of my professional relationships have become some of my dearest friendships. Savannah: My rock. Jenna: My ride or die. Al: My longest standing friend on 30 Rock. Craig, Carson, Sheinelle and Dylan: My family. Libby, Mazz and Talia: My fearless leaders. I will miss you all on Today desperately.”
While details of her new role at NBC were not revealed Thursday, she is expected to contribute to the program in some capacity following her retirement from co-hosting.