Fans of the Today show are disheartened after Hoda Kotb announced on Thursday morning that she will be leaving the program early next year. She has been with NBC for 26 years, and has been an anchor on Today for 17 years.

Kotb Announces Today Departure

Our older readers can surely relate to her feelings about the change.

“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” Kotb, 60, wrote in a letter to Today staffers. “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.”

Kotb has a great reason, as well: it’s time for family.

“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,” she continued. “I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited.”

Kotb also paid tribute to her fellow co-hosts.

“Savannah: my rock,” she stated. “Jenna: my ride-or-die. Al: my longest friend at 30 Rock. Craig, Carson, Sheinelle and Dylan: my family. Libby, Mazz and Talia: my fearless leaders. I will miss each and every one of you at Today desperately.”

Kotb will be staying on in her current role until early 2025. She will, though, remain at NBC in some capacity moving forward.

“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 added. “I’ll be around. How could I not? Family is family and you all will always be a part of mine.”

Kotb Becomes Emotional

Kotb could not help but become emotional as she discussed her Today departure on the beloved morning show on Thursday morning. She explained that turning 60 last month was a “monumental” experience for her that made her realize that she needed to spend more time with her young daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4.

“So I was doing the math and I realized that I have spent 26 years at NBC, 16 years on The Ten, and seven years with you. And I just turned 60,” Kotb told her co-hosts.

“And it was such a monumental moment for me when I turned 60 years old, because I started thinking about that decade,” she continued. “Like, what does that decade mean, what does it hold and what’s it going to have for me? And I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new.”

Kotb began to tear up as she further explained her decision.

“I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on. And then I thought about, obviously I had my kiddos late in life,” she said. “And I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time.”

Kotb’s History

Kotb joined NBC in 1998 as a Dateline correspondent. She became the co-host for the fourth hour of Today in September of 2007 alongside Ann Curry and Natalie Morales. In March of the next year, Kotb was famously joined by Kathie Lee Gifford in the fourth hour.

After the firing of Matt Lauer in 2017, Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, 52, made history as the first-ever pair of female co-hosts of Today. These days, Kotb is the co-anchor of Today alongside Guthrie, and the co-host of Today‘s fourth hour alongside Jenna Bush Hager.

Today certainly will not be the same without Kotb. While she’ll be dearly missed, we can’t blame her for wanting to spend more time with her little girls!

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