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Hoda Kotb penned a letter to her “Today” colleagues prior to her exit. Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images
Hoda shared a letter to the “Today” staff on Sept. 26 about her decision to step down after more than five years as co-anchor with Savannah Guthrie.
“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” she wrote. “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,” the journalist continued. “I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”
On Tuesday, she called her departure after 26 years a “painful” decision. NBC
Kotb has been at NBC News for nearly three decades, after previously working at “Dateline” and as the co-host of the fourth hour of TODAY with Kathie Lee Gifford and then Jenna Bush Hager.
“My time at NBC has been the longest professional love affair of my life,” she added. “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,” she went on to write. “That’s my heart singing. So many of my professional relationships have become some of my most cherished friendships.”
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Hoda also reflected on her connection to specific members of the “Today” family.
“Savannah [Guthrie]: my rock,” she gushed. “Jenna [Bush Hager]: my ride-or-die. Al [Roker]: my longest friend at 30 Rock.”
She went on to call Craig Melvin, Carson Daly, Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer her “family” — and Libby Leist, Tom Mazzarelli and Talia Parkinson-Jones her “ferless leaders.”
She continued, “I will miss each and every one of you at TODAY desperately. I’ve been weighing this decision for quite a while — Am I truly ready? But, my 60th birthday celebration on the Plaza felt like a shift. Like a massive, joyful YES, you are!“
Kotb recalled, “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.
“Because I’ll be working through the beginning of 2025, there’s plenty of time to talk about what’s ahead for all of us,” Kotb concluded. “But one thing I know for sure right now is this: everything’s going to be just fine. The Peacock’s feathers are never ruffled… no matter who comes or goes. TODAY and its amazing people — all of you — never waver. You always weather change with grace and guts.”
Kotb clarified that while she is leaving “Today,” that does not mean she is leaving NBC.
“Happily and gratefully, I plan to remain a part of the NBC family, the longest work relationship I’ve been lucky enough to hold close to my heart,” she wrote. “I’ll be around. How could I not? Family is family and you all will always be a part of mine.”
