Hoda Kotb is out there, folks.
Or at least she will get well soon.
On Thursday morning, the longtime television personality shocked viewers by saying she has decided to leave The Today Show effective January 1, 2025.
“I realized that at age 60 it was time to turn the page and do something new,” Kotb said on air.
“I remember standing outside and looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these beautiful signs, and I thought, ‘This is what the top of the wave looks like to me.’
“And I thought it couldn’t get any better, and I decided it was the right time for me to move on.”
In fact, Kotb celebrated this milestone birthday in August — and explained how the occasion inspired the decision she’s now reached.
This is what he said:
“I thought about it – obviously, my kids came late in life – and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger portion of my time than I have. I feel like we only have a limited amount of time. And so, all that being said, it is the hardest thing in the world.
Kotb has daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, with her ex-fiancé, Joel Schiffman.
Kotb emphasized that the co-host would remain a part of the “NBC family” going forward, but not in the same regular capacity she has enjoyed for the past 17 years.
In the wake of this news, Kotb’s colleagues reacted with statements of gratitude, surprise, admiration, and a little sadness.
“Hoda, we love you so much, and when you look around and see these tears, they are love. Love you very much. And honestly, I don’t think any of us can imagine it – we don’t even want to imagine this place without you,” Savannah Guthrie Said with tears.
“So, it’s complicated because we love you so much and we don’t want you to ever go.”
He said to his friend:
“You have courage. For someone to leave at the top of their game, to leave something that’s amazing, that you love, where it’s easy and comfortable and beautiful and fun and say, ‘But I dream even bigger for myself…’ You have a lot of courage. you inspire me. I love you.”
Said jenna bush hager,
“Hoda just told me a few days ago, and when she told me, my first reaction was from my gut and it was almost crazy. …I said, ‘No, you can’t go.’
“When I feel joyful, when I feel uncertain I come to you. You’re the one I come to and you’re the first one to trust me,” she added. “We’ve had a lot of bosses and I love them, but this woman, on October 28, 2013 – I saw this – said, ‘Hey, want to sit next to me? There’s room.'”
Then there was this from Sheinelle Jones:
“One thing people know for sure about this group is that we are a family. And I’m telling you, Hoda has a relationship in her own way with every single person on this couch, so I think we’re all wrestling with that inside.
“But we also know what a dynamic mom you are and what a presence you are. And your entire movement with welfare. You are going to change the world.
“And we know it.”
And al roker,
“I never knew anyone like you. I’ve known you forever, and I’ve loved you…
We will give the last, emotional word craig melvin,
“People in this business, when that little red light goes on, when it goes off, they’re different people. We have worked with all these people before. You are the opposite.
“When that little red light goes off, you’re exactly the way people see you in the morning – just the biggest heart. You have been the heart of the show for a long time, and no one can take its place…
“This is sad news for us, great news for Hope and Haley.”