Hoda Kotb has been working at the Today Show for years and is a familiar face both on the main show and the Fourth Hour with Jenna Bush Hager.
The 60-year-old news anchor has a great working relationship with her co-stars and enjoys hosting the special shows, including the Thanksgiving edition, which is filmed live during the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
However, this year, the author will be experiencing mixed feelings about the celebratory show, as it will be her last one. Hoda is ticking off several bittersweet ‘final’ episodes in the leadup to her departure, which will be on January 10.
The star announced her decision to leave Today two months ago, revealing the news to her co-stars during a live show on September 26.
She explained that turning 60 had made her look at her life and that the time was right to prioritize being at home more with her two young daughters, Haley, seven, and Hope, five.
The doting mom and her daughters recently moved to the suburbs, switching their apartment in New York City for a home in Westchester County.
She has since revealed that both her girls are thriving in their new environment. When Hoda leaves, Craig Melvin will be taking over her role on the main show, alongside Savannah Guthrie.
© NBCJenna will then be leading the Fourth Hour, but rather than finding a regular co-host, instead, the show has decided to use a pool of different anchors to join the star each week.
The show will be re-named Today with Jenna & Friends. When Hoda announced her departure during a live Today Show in September, she told her fellow co-hosts: “My time at NBC has been the longest professional love affair of my life. But only because you’ve been beside me on this twenty-six-year adventure.
“Looking back, the math is nuts … 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. 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 it’s amazing people — all of you — never waver.
“You always weather change with grace and guts. 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.”
© NBCHoda also explained that turning 60 this year was a huge factor in her decision. She said: “I just turned 60, and it was such a monumental moment for me when I turned 60 years old, because I started thinking about that decade like, what does that decade mean? What does it hold? 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.”
“I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of the time pie that I have,” she added. “I feel like we only have a finite amount of time.”
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