Hoda Kotb had a massive announcement to make this morning on Today. After 16 years of being part of the family and 7 sitting on the couch next to Al Roker and Savannah Guthrie, she will be departing the morning news shows in the new year.
And family is a big reason why she is saying goodbye. She wants to spend more time with her daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, whom she had later in life.
The host explained when and why she decided it was time to move on.”I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new,” she said. “I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people [at the birthday party they threw for her live on the air in August] 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.”
After she told the audience she was departing, her co-anchors, including Craig Melvin, Jenna Bush, and Sheinelle Jones, cried along with her.
I just have to say, has anyone had a job where they cried with their co-worker when they announced that they resigned? I haven’t.
I have a feeling we are going to see lots of tributes and tears until the final episode. It will be nauseating.
Are you going to miss her? I think she will wind up doing a podcast with Kathie Lee Gifford.
