Hoda Kotb is embracing a new chapter in her life after bidding farewell to NBC’s Today.
The beloved TV personality announced her departure from the morning show in September 2024 after nearly three decades at the network.
“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, like, what does that decade mean?
What does it hold? What’s it gonna have for me?” she shared tearfully on-air. “And I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new.”
Kotb also explained that her role as a mother played a significant part in her decision. “I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking they deserve a bigger piece of my time, the pie that I have,” she said.
“I feel like we only have a finite amount of time. And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.” Kotb shares daughters Haley and Hope with her ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman.
Kotb’s final Today episode aired on January 10, marked by a special “Hoda-bration” farewell.
Craig Melvin has taken over her role as Savannah Guthrie’s co-anchor, while Jenna Bush Hager continues to cohost the fourth hour of Today with a rotating panel of guest hosts until a permanent replacement is named.
How the Today Hosts Reacted to Hoda Kotb’s Departure
Today alumni, including Katie Couric and Tamron Hall, have moved on to host their own shows or join other programs, as Deborah Norville did with Inside Edition.
While Kotb hasn’t announced specific plans for her future, she has hinted at a career spanning both on and off the small screen.
Will Hoda Kotb Stay with NBC After Today?
During her announcement, Kotb confirmed she would remain part of the “NBC family” but didn’t disclose extensive details.
“I think it’ll be kind of a Snoop-ish role,” she explained, referencing the rapper’s involvement in the 2024 Olympics.
Hoda Kotb on NBC
“I want to be a supporting character on a team that is already in place so that I’ll come in and just have a role there.
And then I’m going to do my Making Space podcast, which I enjoy and love so much,” she added. Kotb also shared that she plans to make appearances on Today every four to six weeks.
Reports from Variety confirmed Kotb’s occasional contributions to Today and other NBC programs alongside her continued hosting of the Making Space podcast.
Kotb’s Plans Beyond Television
In an October 2024 episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, Kotb opened up about her growing interest in wellness, an area she plans to focus on after leaving Today.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever had a yearning, a calling, a desire, and you can’t quit it, even if you try, because working at NBC is safer. … But sometimes, you know there’s something else that you want to try in your life,” Kotb shared.
“And I have been so turned on by the wellness space because I realized what was happening to me. I tried different things and I noticed my body was calmer. I was getting sick less. I was feeling better.
I was a better parent, a better friend, a better sister, a better daughter. And I thought, all these tiny things I was doing day after day were helping to change me inside.”
She expressed her desire to “live in wellness” and “work in that space,” revealing she has ideas in development that she hopes to reveal soon.
Exciting New Ventures
On January 6, during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Kotb detailed her next career step: launching a wellness app and company. The venture will include retreats, a podcast, and other initiatives aimed at fostering personal transformation.
“It’s not like going to Mexico with your girls, which is fun, but this is something that when you leave, you’ll go like, ‘Oh my gosh, I feel transformed. I feel different,’” she said. While still in its “building process,” the app is expected to debut in the spring.
Family Time and Suburban Life
Outside her professional endeavors, Kotb is thrilled about spending more time with her daughters.
After moving out of New York City in early 2024, she has embraced suburban life, sharing milestones like walking her kids to school, taking them trick-or-treating, and hosting holidays at her new home.
“I’m so excited because to have stockings hung in a place that you know will be the place where they’re gonna be hanging for years — we just, for the first time, decided where the tree was gonna go, and we know from this day on, this is where it’s gonna go — all these cool things,” she said in a December 2024 episode of Hoda & Jenna.
Kotb celebrated Christmas surrounded by her daughters, her mother Sameha, her sister Hala, and Schiffman. “We decked our house out, like, all those kinds of neat things,” she added, reflecting on her new chapter.
