Hoda Kotb Announces She's Leaving the 'Today Show': "Time for Me to Turn the Page"
"I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new," Hoda said of her decision to leave the 'Today' show.
Published Sept. 26 2024, 9:32 a.m. ET
It's the end of an era! On Thursday, Sept. 26, beloved news anchor Hoda Kotb tearfully announced she would be leaving the Today show early next year.
This heartfelt decision comes after more than five years of co-anchoring the morning program, where Hoda became a beloved presence for viewers across the country. It also follows a nearly 30-year career at NBC News.
Why did Hoda Kotb leave the 'Today' show?
Speaking on Today on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, Hoda shared that her recent 60th birthday celebration in August inspired her to make the difficult decision to step away from her role.
"I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new," she said. "I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs, and I thought, 'This is what the top of the wave feels like for me.' And I thought it can't get better, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on."
Hoda also revealed that her desire to spend more time with her mother and her young daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, played a significant factor in her choice.
"Obviously. I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have," she explained. "I feel like we only have a finite amount of time."
Hoda will continue with Today until Jan. 1, 2025, but she plans to stay with the NBC family in an unspecified role.
In an interview with The New York Times, she hinted at the possibility of pursuing projects in the wellness space. "It's such a beautiful, fertile, wonderful place to be," she shared with the outlet.