Hoda Kotb Is Leaving NBC’s ‘Today’: ‘The Right Decision’

Hoda Kotb is leaving NBC’s Today show early next year, she said in a surprise announcement Thursday morning.

Kotb, who has been part of the network for 26 years and the show’s co-anchor alongside Savannah Guthrie since 2018, said in an emotional on-air statement that turning 60 last month influenced her decision. “It was such a monumental moment for me,” she said, fighting back tears.

She said the landmark birthday led her to think about what the next decade of life would hold. “I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60,” Kotb said. “And to try something new.”

In a letter to colleagues Thursday, Kotb said she would be working on the show “through the beginning of 2025.”

“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. I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”

In her on-air announcement, Kotb also spoke about how her “kiddos,” Haley and Hope, factored into her choice to exit the show. “I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have,” she said. “I feel like we only have a finite amount of time.”

Speaking to The New York Times, Kotb said Hope’s health “wasn’t a deciding factor” in leaving the show. Last year, Kotb said Hope had been hospitalized for an unspecified medical reason but has more recently said “things have stabilized.”

Kotb is set to remain as an “occasional contributor” to NBC, according to the Times, but also signaled that she may pursue opportunities in the wellness space.

After joining the network in 1998 as a correspondent on Dateline, she covered a broad sweep of international and domestic news before making the move to Today in 2007. She was joined the following year by Kathie Lee Gifford as co-host on the morning show.

In 2017, when the show’s longtime co-anchor Matt Lauer was ousted amid sexual misconduct claims, Kotb was parachuted in as a replacement. Her temporary position became permanent early in 2018. As well as anchoring alongside Guthrie in the first two hours of Today, Kotb has also been a host in the show’s fourth hour.

“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 wrote in her letter to colleagues. “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.”