Hoda Kotb, co-anchor on Today, announced on the NBC morning show September 26 that she will step down early next year. She said she made that decision after turning 60 last month.
"I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new," an emotional Kotb said.
Kotb and Savannah Guthrie have been co-anchors since 2018. Guthrie said the Today team doesn’t “want to imagine this place without you.”
In a memo to colleagues, Kotb said her daughters, who are 7 and 5, and her mother, "need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie."
Kotb joined NBC News as a correspondent for Dateline in 1998 and joined the Today team in 2007, co-hosting the fourth hour alongside Kathie Lee Gifford. In addition to anchoring Today alongside Guthrie, Kotb co-hosts the fourth hour with Jenna Bush Hager.
Kotb temporarily stepped into the Today co-anchor role in November 2017 after Matt Lauer was fired. She took over co-anchor duties permanently at the start of 2018.
Her staff memo 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. 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.”
On the air, an emotional Guthrie said, “When you look around and see these tears, they are love. You are so loved.”
