WASHINGTON — Hoda Kotb will be leaving NBC's 'Today' show early next year.
The longtime co-anchor made the announcement on the morning show Thursday and through a letter shared with staff.
"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 going to have for me - and I realize that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new," Kotb shared on-air with her co-anchors and viewers.
"This is the right time for me to move on," she added, while tearing up.
Kotb explained part of her decision included thinking about how her kids deserve a bigger piece of her "time pie."
Savannah Guthrie, Kotb's co-anchor for the last seven years, said she was so proud of her "guts" to "leave at the top of her game."
"When you look around and see these tears, they're love, you are so loved," Guthrie said.
During Thursday's announcement, Al Roker told Kotb that he has "never known anybody like you."
Kotb has been with the network for 26 years, including 17 years on "Today." She has co-anchored with Guthrie since 2018, filling in after Matt Lauer was fired amid sexual harassment allegations. She first joined NBC News as a correspondent for “Dateline” in 1998, and later joined “Today” in 2007.
While she's leaving the morning show in "the beginning of 2025," Kotb said she will not be leaving NBC.
Kotb has also served as co-host of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2018 and been a key part of NBC's Olympics coverage during the last several Summer and Winter Games.
Her goodbye note to staffers mentioned many of her co-workers, like Jenna Bush Hager and Roker: “Savannah: my rock. Jenna: my ride-or-die. Al: my longest friend at 30 Rock.”
“Happily and gratefully, I plan to remain a part of the NBC family, the longest work relationship I’ve been lucky enough to hold close to my heart. I’ll be around. How could I not? Family is family and you all will always be a part of mine,” she wrote.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
