The Today show needs a new co-host. Hoda Kotb, who's anchored the morning show alongside Savannah Guthrie since 2018, announced Thursday that she's exiting the anchor chair to spend more time with her adopted daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, the youngest of whom has battled health issues. "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," a tearful Kotb said Thursday, surrounded by colleagues. "I feel like we only have a finite amount of time." Just last month, Kotb told People about her move to the suburbs, where her daughters could have more space. "I want my kids to feel grass on their feet, and play in the yard, and ride bikes down the street, and run up and down the stairs," she said.
Speaking Thursday, Kotb said she felt the need to turn a page after turning 60 last month. In a letter to staff, she said leaving the anchor chair was the right decision but "a painful one. And you all are the reason why." She added she would still "be around," per People. She's to remain in her current role until the new year, then move to "an unspecified role" with NBC, her employer of 26 years, per Today. Guthrie said she didn't want Kotb to leave but was proud of her friend for dreaming bigger. "You have so much guts. You inspire me," she told Kotb. The pair made history together as Today's first-ever female co-host pairing. Kotb also co-hosts Today's fourth hour alongside Jenna Bush Hager. She started with NBC as a Dateline correspondent in 1998, per USA Today. (More Today show stories.)
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