Hoda Kotb Bids Emotional Farewell to Today Show After 17 Years.
On Friday, January 10, Hoda Kotb concluded her 17-year tenure as anchor on the Today show, leaving a heartfelt message for her co-anchors, viewers, and colleagues. The 60-year-old journalist's final moments on-air were filled with emotions as she reflected on her career and expressed her gratitude for those who helped her along the way.
Hoda Kotb
Hoda Kotb bids an emotional farewell to the Today show after 17 years, reflecting on her impactful career. As she steps down from her anchor role, she praises co-anchors Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie, and Al Roker, while expressing excitement for new adventures.
“I find it difficult to express my feelings because I am quite emotional, but I want to extend my gratitude,” Kotb shared tearfully after a video tribute celebrating her extensive career on the NBC news program. She expressed her appreciation to her co-anchor, Carson Daly, saying, “Carson Daly, you are the essential ingredient of this show. Without you, it simply does not resonate. You possess that special quality, and you deliver it consistently."
Kotb also took a moment to acknowledge the deep bond she shares with her co-anchors. To Al Roker, who had supported her from the very beginning, she said, “Al, you were my first friend here, the very first person I encountered. When I fell ill, you were the first to enter my room and reassure me that I would be alright.”
Turning her focus to Savannah Guthrie, Kotb emotionally declared, “Who shows up for everybody? This girl. When your brother died, it was this girl. When I was going through stuff with Hope, it was this girl. She's in the room. She's always in the room and I love you.” Kotb affectionately referred to Guthrie as “my person,” acknowledging her unwavering support through life’s toughest moments.
Kotb closed out her farewell by celebrating her successor, Craig Melvin, whom she praised as the perfect fit for her role. “Craig, I mean, I'm so happy for you. You earned this. You own this,” Kotb said. “And come Monday at 7:00 a.m., I'm going to be dead asleep. But you're gonna be fantastic. You're going to bring it home! Craig, you're gonna be so good. You and Savannah are going to be magic."
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After the emotional farewell, the Today show surprised Kotb with special guests, including Maria Shriver and Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles. Biles, who referred to Kotb as her "Olympic mom," shared a touching sentiment: “Hopefully we're in L.A. together, whatever that means.” Kotb, clearly moved, responded, “Simone, however you end up in L.A. and whatever you do, I'm going to be there too with you. I love you.”
The surprises continued as Kermit the Frog made a special appearance, serenading Kotb with the beloved song "Rainbow Connection," a song she had played when "rolling in" to work on her final day. Kermit sweetly told Kotb, “You truly do make every day as beautiful as a rainbow,” before saying goodbye.
Kotb’s final moments on-air were spent in Today Plaza, where she shared an emotional thank you to her viewers. "Can I just say thank you real quick? Can I just say thank you to every person who came out here? I read your cards. I got your bracelets. I got the scarves you crocheted. I read the texts. I got everything. So I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you for coming out, for being here and for everything you did.”
Kotb had first announced in September her intention to step down from her role after nearly 20 years at the Today show. In a heartfelt letter to the staff, she wrote, “As I write this, my heart is all over the map. I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful one. And you all are the reason why. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I’m feeling that so deeply right now. I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”
Hoda Kotb
Explaining her reasoning, Kotb added, "My broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie. I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited."
The Today show anchor shared that, while stepping away from the daily grind, she will remain with NBC in a new capacity. “It’ll involve doing some specials, doing the podcast and doing maybe the Olympics, stuff like that," she shared. "It'll be like those kinds of things. And I think every month or so, I'll come back on the Today show and do a little something in this space, which I think will be fun."
Having juggled her career with raising her daughters, Hope and Haley, Kotb acknowledged the challenge of balancing it all. “There’s the guilt you carry because you can't be 100% at work and 100% at home. Something has to give if you want excellence. If you're going to be excellent at work, something has to give at home. And if you want to be excellent at home, I mean excellent, and do all the things, something has to give at work. It can't be equal,” she explained.
Hoda Kotb (@hodakotb Instagram)
Turning 60 in August brought about introspection for Kotb, who had been contemplating what her next chapter would look like. “I’m a sunrise person and not a sunset person, and I was wondering, what does it look like for me?” she said.
As Kotb embarks on her new journey, she hinted at an upcoming wellness initiative. “It’s a whole wellness situation, and I got lit up by that just from stuff I've been working on and doing on myself," she said. "I’ve learned to do a bunch of different things with breath works and what not through friends, through Jenna Bush Hager, through Maria Shriver, through all these different people, and I've been loving it."
Despite stepping down as the anchor, Kotb's legacy at Today will endure, with Melvin officially stepping into the role on January 13. Kotb’s final moments on-air proved her deep love for the show and her co-workers, and she left them with a message of optimism for the future.
Hoda Kotb joined the Today show in 2007. She initially appeared as a correspondent and later became a co-anchor of the Today show’s fourth hour alongside Kathie Lee Gifford. In 2018, after Gifford's departure, Kotb took over as the co-anchor of the 7-9 a.m. slot alongside Savannah Guthrie.
