Hoda Kotb On The Reason That Pushed Her To Quit The ‘Today’ Show: “Something Has To Give If You Want Excellence”

Hoda Kotb announced she was leaving the Today show after 17 years and is opening up about what motivated her decision.

In a new interview, Kotb said that the driving force behind her decision to step away from the morning show was to spend more time with her family.

“I knew that I wanted this decade to be different,” Kotb told People about turning 60 and wanting a change in her life. “I looked at my time like a pie. I was like, ‘This is how much time I get, and now what am I going to do with it and how am I going to carve it up?’ And I wanted it to be filled with more of them.”

She continued, “There’s the guilt you carry because you can’t be 100% at work and 100% at home. Something has to give if you want excellence. If you’re going to be excellent at work, something has to give at home. And if you want to be excellent at home, I mean excellent, and do all the things, something has to give at work. It can’t be equal.”

Kotb has two daughters, a 7-year-old and a 5-year-old. In 2023, Kotb took some time off the show to be with her youngest daughter in the ICU, which moved the TV host to continue to prioritize her family.

“I’ve had yearnings, and you know when something’s pulling you? It’s like you either go toward it or you shove it down and say, ‘Nope, this is the way. I’m going to stay here because it’s safe,’” she said. “It does make more sense to stay at NBC. I’m financially secure and I would have job security. I mean, why would you ever not do that? But I’ve been watching my kids and I was thinking to myself, ‘I wonder what I’m missing?’”

Kotb also notes that not having to go to sleep early to wake up early the next day will allow her to have a social life, adding, “I thought, you know what? I’m not going to be playing ‘beat the clock’ all the time anymore.”

Kotb is due to depart the Today show in early 2025.