Hoda Kotb's co-workers will be her family for life.
After announcing her departure from “Today” after nearly two decades, the 60-year-old's colleagues shared their feelings for the longtime anchor turned singer.
“Hoda, we love you so much,” Savannah Guthrie said on “Today” as she and Jenna Bush Hager held Kotb’s hand.
“And when you look around and you see these tears, they're love. You are so loved,” she added. “And honestly, I don't think any of us can imagine — we don't want to imagine this place without you.”
“So, it's complicated because we love you so much, and we don't want you to ever go away,” the 52-year-old added while holding back tears.
Despite Guthrie — who co-anchors the first two hours of the news show with Kotb —'s immense sadness, she also remains in awe of her close friend for making such a difficult decision.
“But at the same time, I just want to say I'm so proud of my friend. You have guts,” she said. “For someone to go to the top of their game, to leave something that's amazing, that you love, where it's easy and comfortable and beautiful and fun and say, 'But I dream even bigger for myself in the great unknown.' You have so much guts. You inspire me, I love you.”
Bush Hager — who co-hosts “Today with Hoda & Jenna” with the journalist — joked at one point that it “isn’t over” because she’s “about to show up” at his home “like a stalker.”
“We are your friends forever,” the 43-year-old added.
Meteorologist Al Roker became emotional and said, “I've never seen anybody like you, and I've known you forever, and I love you.”
Adding to the sweet sentiments, Sheinelle Jones, co-host of the broadcast's third hour, also told viewers that the whole group is a “family.”
“Hoda has a relationship with everybody on this couch in her own way, so I think we're all struggling with that inside, but we also know what a dynamic mother you are and your whole movement with your appearance and your health, you're going to change the world, and we know that, so we're still here,” the 46-year-old actress said.
Kotb's co-workers and crew give him a standing ovation After his announcement, he became emotional as he hugged everyone present in the studio.
Guthrie also posted on social media An Instagram reel From the morning broadcast.
“Oh, Hoda. All the tears for you,” he wrote on his post. “For the love and happiness and most of all, gratitude for this beautiful soul who has light, warmth, goodness and faith – in abundance. I love you with all my heart, sweet Hoda. We will always have each other.”
Kotb revealed her shocking decision to step down on Thursday morning.
“I realized that at 60 I needed to try something new,” she said, fighting back tears. “I remember standing outside and seeing these beautiful people with these beautiful signs, and I thought, ‘This is what it feels like to be at the top of the wave for me.’ And I thought it couldn’t get any better than that, and I decided it was the right time for me to move on.”
Kotb, who is the mother of daughters 7-year-old Haylie and 5-year-old Hope, said the change is intended to help her focus more on her family.
“Obviously I had kids later in life, and I was thinking they deserved a bigger share of my time,” she added. “I think we have a limited amount of time. And so, having said all that, it's the hardest thing in the world.”
Kotb began as the weekday morning host of “Today’s” first fourth hour in 2007, and she reflected on her decades-long career with the network in an emotional letter.
“My time at NBC has been the longest professional love affair of my life,” he wrote in a note published by “Today.” Thursday. “But only because you've been with me on this twenty-six-year adventure. Looking back, the math is crazy. 26 years at NBC News – ten years at 'Dateline,' seven at seven, ten at sixteen.”
“I'm imagining your faces and your families and all the ways you've lifted me up and inspired me,” she said. “It makes my heart sing. So many of my professional relationships have become my dearest friendships.”
As Hoda explained, although she had been thinking about the move “for a while,” she felt she was really ready for a change in her life.
“My sixtieth birthday celebration on the Plaza felt like a makeover,” Kotb concluded. “A huge, joyous Yes, you! I see it all very clearly: My broadcasting career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mother need and deserve a larger share of my time. I will miss you all very much, but I am ready and excited.”
