‘I Will Miss You All’

Kotb made the announcement during Thursday’s broadcast, revealing she’ll be leaving Today early next year, but plans to remain part of the NBC family.

As for what prompted the change, Kotb said her 60th birthday celebration in August served as the catalyst, signaling to the longtime television personality that now was the right time to “move on.”

“I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new,” she recalled Thursday. “I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs, and I thought, ‘This is what the top of the wave feels like for me.’ And I thought, ‘It can’t get better,’ and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on.”

Another major factor in her decision to leave Today — Kotb’s two daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, who she’s intending to spend more time with as she transitions away from the show.

“Obviously I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have,” she said. “I feel like we only have a finite amount of time.”

Kotb added, “And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”

“It’s kind of a big deal for me,” she said through tears. “I’ve been practicing so I wouldn’t cry, but anyway, I did.”

The announcement elicited an equally emotional response from her colleagues, including co-anchor Savannah Guthriewho said she can’t imagine the newsroom without Kotb in it.

“We love you so much,” Savannah tearfully said. “And when you look around and see these tears, they’re love. You are so loved. 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,” she continued. “But also, I just want to say I am so proud of my friend. You have guts. For someone to leave at the top of their game, to leave something that’s wonderful that you love, where it’s easy and comfortable and beautiful and fun , and say, ‘But I dream bigger for myself into the great unknown.’ You have so much guts. You inspire me.

“It’s not over,” Jenna Bush Hager added. “I’m going to be showing up at your house like the stalker you are to Zac Brown. I will be there on your doorstep, and we are your friends forever.”

One of Hoda’s oldest friends during her time with NBC, weatherman Al Rokeralso shared a heartfelt message amid Kotb’s announcement.

“I have never known anybody like you. I’ve known you forever, and I love you,” Roker said, with Sheinelle Jones and Craig Melvin sharing tributes to Kotb as well.

Penning a letter to the staff and crew at the show, Kotb detailed her decision and reflected on her decades-long career at NBC.

“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,” Kotb wrote. “My time at NBC has been the longest professional love affair of my life. But only because you’ve been beside me on this twenty-six-year adventure. Looking back, the math is nuts. 26 years at NBC News – Ten years at Datelineseven on the seven o’clock hour, sixteen on the ten o’clock hour. I’m picturing your faces and your families and all the ways you’ve lifted me up and inspired me.”

She continued, “That’s my heart singing. So many of my professional relationships have become some of my most cherished friendships. Savannah: my rock. Jenna: my ride-or-die. Al: my longest friend at 30 Rock. Craig, Carson , Sheinelle and Dylan: my family. Libby, Mazz and Talia: my fearless leaders TODAY desperately.”

She went on to repeat her 60th birthday celebration as the shift, writing that her kids and her mom deserve more of that time she’s so tirelessly dedicated to the show, as she moves into this new chapter of her life.

“I’ve been weighing this decision for quite a while – Am I truly ready? But, my sixtieth birthday celebration on the Plaza felt like a shift. Like a massive, joyful YES, you are! I saw it all so clearly: 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. Kotb wrote.

“Because I’ll be working through the beginning of 2025, there’s plenty of time to talk about what’s ahead for all of us. But one thing I know for sure right now is this: everything’s going to be just fine,” she added. “The Peacock’s feathers are never ruffled… no matter who comes or goes. TODAY and its amazing people — all of you — never waver. You always change again with grace and guts.”

“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, concluding the moving letter.

Kotb has been part of NBC News for nearly three decades, previously working on Dateline and as the co-host of the fourth hour of Today with Kathie Lee Gifford and then Bush Hager. She and Guthrie have co-anchored Today for more than five years.