Hoda Kotb, a beloved mainstay of NBC News' "TODAY" for nearly two decades, announced on Thursday that she will step down from the network's flagship morning show early next year.
She said she made the decision after turning 60 in August. "I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new," she said, fighting back tears and surrounded by her fellow hosts.
Kotb has co-anchored “TODAY” with Savannah Guthrie since early 2018. They were the show’s first all-female anchor team.
Guthrie, visibly emotional, said the “TODAY” team doesn’t “want to imagine this place without you.” Guthrie praised Kotb for her “guts” and said she is exiting at "the top of [her] game."
In a written message to her colleagues, Kotb said her daughters and her mother "need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie."
Kotb said she would stay with “TODAY” through the start of next year and continue with NBC in an unspecified role. (NBC News did not immediately announce her successor.)
"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. I’ll be around. How could I not?"
"Family is family and you all will always be a part of mine," she wrote.
Al Roker, the legendary "TODAY" weatherman and co-host, paid tribute to Kotb after she made her announcement: "I have never known anybody like you ... I've known you forever, and love you."
“TODAY” has long been one of NBC’s marquee television franchises and drivers of advertising revenue. “TODAY” has topped ABC’s “Good Morning America” among adults between ages 25 and 54 for 58 consecutive weeks — the show’s best streak in more than three years, according to Nielsen statistics cited by the network.
Kotb joined NBC News as a correspondent for "Dateline" in 1998. She went on to cover a wide array of domestic and international news stories before joining the "TODAY" team in 2007, co-hosting the show's light-hearted fourth hour alongside Kathie Lee Gifford.
Kotb and Gifford attracted a loyal following with their easygoing banter and spirited celebrity interviews. Kotb currently co-hosts the fourth hour of "TODAY" with Jenna Bush Hager.
Kotb temporarily stepped into the "TODAY" co-anchor role in November 2017 after NBC fired Matt Lauer following a female colleague's detailed complaint accusing him of inappropriate sexual behavior.
She permanently took over co-anchor duties at the start of 2018. In on-air remarks at the time, Guthrie said "this has to be the most popular decision NBC News has ever made, and I am so thrilled."
Kotb and Guthrie have co-anchored the "TODAY" news hours during some of the most pivotal chapters in recent history, including the presidencies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden as well as the Covid pandemic and the Israel-Hamas war.
Kotb has also chronicled her own story, too, such as her experience with breast cancer and the adoptions of her two daughters, 7-year-old Haley and 5-year-old Hope.
In her written message, Kotb said "there's plenty of time to talk about what’s ahead for all of us."
“But one thing I know for sure right now is this: everything’s going to be just fine,” she wrote. “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.”
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