Hoda Kotb announces she's leaving the 'Today' show

(Gray News) - Hoda Kotb announced that she is leaving the “Today” show after co-anchoring the morning show for six years.

According to “Today,” Kotb shared the news in a letter addressed to the show’s staff on Thursday.

“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” Kotb said. " I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful one.”

Kotb started working for NBC News in 1998 as a correspondent for “Dateline” and joined the “Today” show team in 2007.

She started co-anchoring the show with Savannah Guthrie in 2018, according to NBC News, following Matt Lauer’s firing amid sexual harassment allegations.

Kotb and Guthrie were the show’s first all-women anchor team, NBC reported.

In her letter, Kotb expressed gratitude towards her “Today” show co-workers, including Guthrie, Jenna Bush Hager and Al Roker.

"Savannah: my rock. Jenna: my ride-or-die. Al: my longest friend at 30 Rock,” she said in the note.

During Thursday’s show, Kotb said she made the decision after turning 60 this year.

“I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new,” she said.

According to “Today,” Kotb hopes to spend more time with her two daughters, 7-year-old Haley and 5-year-old Hope.

“My broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead,” she said in her note. “And now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie.”

Kotb said she will stay on the “Today” show through the start of 2025, and plans on staying with NBC despite leaving the show. However, she did not share what her future projects might be.

NBC has not announced who will co-anchor the show once Kotb leaves.

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