Hoda Kotb Announces Departure from Today Show to Focus on Family: ‘I’m Making the Right Decision’

Hoda Kotb Announces Departure from Today Show to Focus on Family: ‘I’m Making the Right Decision’

Hoda Kotb Announces Departure from Today Show to Focus on Family: ‘I’m Making the Right Decision’

Beloved Today show co-anchor Hoda Kotb has announced that she will be leaving the iconic morning program to spend more time with her family.

The 60-year-old journalist shared the news on Thursday in a heartfelt letter to the Today staff, parts of which were shared online by the show. Kotb also delivered the announcement live during the broadcast, addressing her viewers directly.

“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” Kotb expressed in the letter, according to Today. “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.”

On Thursday’s show, surrounded by her co-hosts Savannah Guthrie, Jenna Bush Hager, and Al Roker, Kotb tearfully explained her decision to focus on her family. “It was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new beyond the program,” she said.

Guthrie, also fighting back tears, shared a touching message for Kotb. “Hoda, we love you so much, and when you look around and see these tears, they’re love, as you are so loved. Honestly, I don’t think any of us can imagine — we don’t want to imagine — this place without you,” she said. “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 safe, [to say] ‘But I dream even bigger for myself in the great unknown.’ You have so much guts. You inspire me. I love you, and it’s not over. I’m going to be showing up to your house.”

Kotb elaborated on her decision in her note, explaining that she had been considering it for some time. “I’ve been weighing this decision for quite a while — Am I truly ready?” she wrote. “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.”

Kotb has been a fixture on Today since 2018, co-anchoring with Guthrie, following a decade spent hosting the fourth hour of the show with Kathie Lee Gifford and, later, Jenna Bush Hager.

In her farewell letter, she reflected on her 26-year journey with NBC. “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,” she said, paying tribute to her colleagues and the friendships formed over the years.

Kotb also gave a special shout-out to her co-anchors, calling Guthrie her “rock” and Bush Hager her “ride-or-die,” while praising other colleagues like Carson Daly.

Though she’s leaving Today, Kotb assured fans she would remain part of the NBC family until early 2025.

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