NBC’s “Today” co-anchor Hoda Kotb will be leaving the morning show early next year.
Kotb made the announcement Thursday as she was surrounded by her on-air colleagues.
She said she was leaving the show so she could spend more time with her two daughters, according to Fox News.
“So, I was doing the math and I realized that I have spent 26 years at NBC,” Kotb said as she started tearing up.
“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… I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new,” she said. “This is the right time for me to, kind of, move on.”
A major reason her her to move on are her daughters, who she said she had later in life.
“They deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have,” Kotb said.
“With all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world,” Kotb said. “It’s kind of a big deal for me… I’ve been practicing so I wouldn’t cry, but anyway, I did.”
Savannah Guthrie, who has co-anchored “Today” with Kotb since early 2018, praised Kotb for her “guts,” saying she is leaving at “the top of [her] game,” per NBC News.
The two were the show’s first all-female anchor team after the departure of Matt Lauer, who was fired over sexual misconduct violations.
Weatherman Al Roker, paid tribute to Kotb after her announcement.
“I have never known anybody like you … I’ve known you forever, and love you,” he said.
While she is leaving “Today,” Kotb said she would “stay in the NBC family,” per Fox News.
Kotb worked on NBC’s “Dateline” and hosted the fourth hour of “Today” with Kathie Lee Gifford, who was subsequently replaced by Jenna Bush Hager.
It is not clear who will replace Kotb when she leaves “Today.”
