Hoda Kotb broke down in tears while filming her last episode of the “Today” show Friday.
“Can I just say thank you? I haven’t been able to articulate it, because I’m a mess most times, but I just want to say thanks,” she said through tears.
Kotb, 60, ended her 26-year career at NBC News with a jam-packed “Hoda-bration” that included an emotional video with interviews from her co-anchors, a custom gift from Jamie Lee Curtis, a video message from her longtime role model Oprah Winfrey, a surprise visit from Simone Biles and more.
The longtime broadcaster has shared a slew of emotional moments with her co-anchors, Savannah Guthrie, Jenna Bush Hager, Al Roker and Craig Melvin, since announcing in September 2024 that she was leaving both “Today” and “Today with Hoda & Jenna.”
“I decided this is the right time for me to kind of move on. And so with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world,” she said with tears in her eyes at the time.
Later that day, Kotb further broke down again with Bush Hager, her fourth-hour co-host, when she discussed how “hard” it was for her to leave “something this amazing.”
“It weighed a lot on me. I went back and forth and back and forth, and then I thought to myself, ‘You know, I think this decade I think I’m going to have to start choosing me,’” Kotb explained.
Bush Hager, 43, admitted she initially struggled with Kotb’s decision and even called her dad, former President George Bush, crying over the news.
“At first, he thought something really awful [happened], like I lost a loved one, because of how emotional I was,” Bush Hager recalled in September. “And then, he said, ‘Oh, she’s leaving, because it’s time, and you’re going to be fine. It’s your turn. It’s OK.’”
Bush Hager and Kotb have since cried over their relationship dozens of times over the last few months.
The former first daughter will continue hosting the fourth hour with various guests — including Scarlett Johansson, Eva Longoria and Keke Palmer — on “Jenna and Friends” until she feels comfortable picking a more permanent replacement for Kotb.
Meanwhile, current “Today” anchor and third-hour co-host Melvin will replace Kotb for the news portion of the morning beginning Monday.
Despite leaving her NBC gig, Kotb clarified that she will stay in the “Today” family and make appearances every now and then.
Kotb also divulged that she will be venturing into the wellness space. She said she will launch both a new company that hosts wellness retreats and a wellness app in the spring.
“I want to work in that space. I want to start things. I’ve got things that are percolating inside … but I want you guys to come along on the ride with me because let’s all get better! Why not?” she said during an October episode of “Today.”
Kotb has also expressed her eagerness to have a less demanding schedule so she can enjoy her time in the suburbs with her two adopted daughters: Haley Joy and Hope Catherine.
“I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have,” she said during her emotional exit announcement in September.
The “Hope Is a Rainbow” author began her broadcasting career in 1986 when she worked at a CBS local affiliate in Greenville, Miss., after graduating from Virginia Tech.
Kotb went on to work at an ABC affiliate in Moline, Ill., for a year and then a CBS affiliate in Fort Myers, Fla., for two years before becoming a local favorite at the CBS affiliate in New Orleans from 1992 to 1998.
Kotb joined the NBC team in 1998 when she scored the “Dateline NBC” gig and worked there for 10 years before transitioning to “Today with Kathie Lee [Gifford] and Hoda” in 2008.
Kotb eventually snagged the “Today” show co-anchor role alongside Guthrie in 2017 after Matt Lauer was terminated for “inappropriate sexual behavior.”
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