Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Hota Kotb Gets Emotional Announcing She'll Be Leaving 'Today' Show—And Now We're All Sobbing

YouTube screenshot of Hoda Kotb
TODAY/YouTube

Kotb was in tears surrounded by her cohosts while announcing that she'll be leaving Today early next year after reflecting on turning 60.

It's the end of an era for Today and for Hota Kotb, who tearfully announced on Thursday that she would be leaving the show early next year.

Kotb, who has been apart of the NBC family for nearly three decades, has most recently co-hosted the fourth hour of Today with Kathie Lee Gifford and then Jenna Bush Hager and co-anchored Today with Savannah Guthrie for the last five plus years.


But soon that will all come to an end.

On Thursday's show, Kotb took a moment to share the news of her upcoming departure with viewers and her Today family.

Kotb will continue to work for NBC in an unspecified role, but she emotionally shared during the segment that she wanted to exit her anchoring role on a high note.

"I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new."

She continued:

"I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs, and I thought, 'This is what the top of the wave feels like for me.' And I thought it can't get better, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on."

The host also hopes to spend more time with her daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 5.

"Obviously I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have."
"I feel like we only have a finite amount of time.."
"And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world."

She tearfully added:

"It's kind of a big deal for me."
"I've been practicing so I wouldn't cry, but anyway, I did."

You can watch the segment below.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

On September 26, Kotb also shared a letter with the Today staff.

"To my TODAY family,"
"As I write this, my heart is all over the map. 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."

The letter went on:

"My time at NBC has been the longest professional love affair of my life. But only because you've been beside me on this twenty-six-year adventure."
"Looking back, the math is nuts. 26 years at NBC News - Ten years at Dateline, seven on the seven o'clock hour, sixteen on the ten o'clock hour."
"I'm picturing your faces and your families and all the ways you've lifted me up and inspired me. That's my heart singing."
"So many of my professional relationships have become some of my most cherished friendships. Savannah: my rock. Jenna: my ride-or-die. Al: my longest friend at 30 Rock. Craig, Carson, Sheinelle and Dylan: my family. Libby, Mazz and Talia: my fearless leaders."
"I will miss each and every one of you at TODAY desperately."

Kotb mentioned in the letter as she did on the show that her 60th birthday celebration validated the "shift" she'd been entertaining.

"I’ve been weighing this decision for quite a while – Am I truly ready? 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."

She added that she knows "everything is going to be just fine" at the Peacock because of all of its "amazing people" before signing off:

"Love, Hoda"

People on social media all agreed that Kotb will surely be missed.





And they wished her all the best as she navigates this new chapter.



Kotb's fellow Today cast also shared both their sadness in her leaving and their excitement for what her future holds.

Guthrie emotionally told her co-host:

"We love you so much."
"And when you look around and see these tears, they're love. You are so loved."
"We don't want to imagine this place without you."

She continued:

"So it's complicated because we love you so much, and we don't want you to ever go."
"But also I just want to 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 bigger for myself into the great unknown.'"
"You have so much guts. You inspire me. I love you."

Bush-Hager added:

"It's not over."
"I'm going to be showing up at your house like the stalker you are to Zac Brown."
"I will be there on your doorstep, and we are your friends forever."

Al Roker also chimed in:

"I have never known anybody like you."
"I've known you forever, and I love you."

She will definitely be missed, but her departure is well-earned.

We are wishing her all the best!

More from Entertainment/tv-and-movies

Vivian Wilson; Elon Musk
@vivillainous/Instagram; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Vivian Wilson Drags Dad Elon Musk For Claiming Protesters Are Being Paid By Democrats

After billionaire Elon Musk erroneously claimed that massive anti-Trump administration protests around the country have been full of "paid protesters," his estranged daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, underscored the extent of his hypocrisy in a post on Threads.

Millions of people participated in protests against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on Saturday, with demonstrations held across all 50 states and around the world. The protests, organized by a pro-democracy movement, were a response to what they describe as a "hostile takeover" and an attack on American rights and freedoms.

Keep ReadingShow less
Madonna; Elton John
Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation/GettyImages, Noam Galai/Getty Images for TIME

Madonna Reveals She And Elton John Finally 'Buried The Hatchet' After Decades-Long Feud

Harmony was finally restored when music icons Madonna and Elton John ended their decades-long feud over the weekend.

"We Finally Buried the Hatchet!!!" Madonna enthused on Tuesday's Instagram post.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk; Amy Coney Barrett
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images; Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Musk Slammed For Criticizing 'Suicidal Empathy' Of SCOTUS Justices Who Ruled In Favor Of Due Process

Once again borrowing from the language of the toxic, insecure, red pill/blue pill, alpha male, incel subcultures that gave rise to public figures like Andrew Tate and Nick Fuentes, Elon Musk attacked the women of the United States Supreme Court for following the rule of law and the United States Constitution instead of showing fealty to Republican President Donald Trump.

In a 4-5 dissent, only the women of SCOTUS decided the core of our justice system—due process—can stop the kinds of mistakes Trump's Department of Homeland Security is making routinely, like ICE abducting and deporting innocent people with visa or green cards to a hellish prison in El Salvador.

Keep ReadingShow less
Michelle Williams
Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Michelle Williams Puts First Class Passenger On Blast For Gross Bare Feet On Her Flight

Michelle Williams found herself in an all-too-relatable mid-flight nightmare—and she had the receipts to prove it.

The Destiny’s Child singer took to Instagram on Sunday to hilariously call out a fellow passenger who decided to go barefoot and make himself a little too comfortable on their flight from Chicago to New York.

Keep ReadingShow less
Wolf
Colossal Biosciences/TIME

Scientists Just Brought Dire Wolves Back From Extinction—And Everyone's Thinking The Same Thing

In a stunning achievement, scientists have brought back an animal that went extinct some 13,000 years ago—and a lot of people are not quite ready to celebrate.

The genetically engineered wolf pups resemble the dire wolf, an ancient, long-gone species.

Keep ReadingShow less