NBC's Hoda Kotb Announces She's Leaving Flagship 'Today' Early Next Year: Time to 'Move On'

NBC's “Today” co-host Hoda Kotb announced in a tearful segment Thursday that she will be leaving the program early next year.

NBC's “Today” crew gathered on the set couch as Kotb announced the news that she would be leaving the Comcast-owned network's flagship morning program to spend more time with her family.

“So I did the math and realized I spent 26 years at NBC,” Kotb said, tearing up and telling herself to “be cool.”

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NBC's “Today” co-host Hoda Kotb announced she will be leaving the show early next year. (Screenshot/NBC)

NBC's “Today” team gathered on the set couch when Kotb said she was leaving the show.

“I just turned 60, and it was a monumental moment for me when I turned 60 because I started thinking about that decade… I realized that at 60 it was time for me to turn the page and try something new,” she continued. “This is the right time for me to move on, so to speak.”

Kotb then explained that she wanted to spend more time with her young children, which she said she would have later in life.

“They deserve a bigger piece of my time,” Kotb said.

“Despite everything, this is the hardest thing in the world,” she added. “It's a big deal for me…I practiced not to cry, but I did it anyway.”

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Kotb, who said she would “stay in the NBC family,” previously worked at NBC's “Dateline” and hosted the fourth hour of “Today” with Kathie Lee Gifford and then Jenna Bush Hager before moving on permanently as co-host Savannah Guthrie's page appeared after longtime host Matt Lauer was fired over sexual misconduct allegations.

Kotb famously sat next to Guthrie when the bombshell announcement that Lauer was being terminated was made in 2017. Kotb helped “Today” weather Lauer’s firing by temporarily filling his chair before naming him his permanent successor weeks later.

It is unclear who will replace Kotb in early 2025.

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