When Is Hoda Kotb's Last Day onToday? Why the Longtime Host Is Saying Goodbye to the Morning Show — and What She's Doing Next

Mar. 15, 2025

Hoda Kotb co-hosting the ‘Today’ show on November 29, 2023 in New York City.Photo:Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

After a nearly 18-year run on theTodayshow,Hoda Kotbis stepping away from the news desk.

“I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful one. And you all are the reason why. I love youandit’s time for me to leave the show,” she wrote, explaining that her daughtersHaley JoyandHope Catherine"deserve a bigger slice of my time pie."

Kotb has co-anchoredToday’s7 a.m. and 8 a.m. time slotsalongsideSavannah Guthriesince 2018 and hostedToday’s fourth hour at 10 a.m. since 2007 (Jenna Bush Hagerjoined her in 2019, followingKathie Lee Gifford’s exit).

How long has Hoda Kotb been on theTodayshow?

Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford co-hosting the 10 a.m. hour of the ‘Today’ show.Heidi Gutma via Getty

Heidi Gutma via Getty

Kotb was eventually named co-anchor ofToday’s7 a.m. and 8 a.m. slotsalongside Savannah Guthrie in January 2018, a few months afterMatt Lauerwas fired from the show amidallegations of sexual misconduct. Kotb and Guthrie’s pairing was historical as there had never been an all-female anchor team on network television.

“We asked Hoda to step in in the interim, and our thoughts were, ‘Okay we’re going to need a man, who will it be?’ " Guthrie recalled to PEOPLE in October 2024. “But then it dawned on all of us that this was the most obvious, most sensible and best choice.”

She added, “The most exciting thing was, audiences not only embraced it, it never even became a thing.People were ready for this.”

Why is Hoda Kotb leaving theTodayshow?

Carson Daly, Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker hosting the ‘Today’ show on January 3, 2024 in New York City.Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Kotb is leaving theTodayshow tospend more time with her kids, Haley Joy and Hope Catherine, whom she adopted in 2017 and 2019, respectively.She shares her daughterswith ex-fiancéJoel Schiffman.

“I knew that I wanted this decade to be different. I looked at my time like a pie. I was like, this is how much time I get, and now what am I going to do with it and how am I going to carve it up? And I wanted it to be filled with more ofthem,” she told PEOPLE, referring to Haley and Hope.

Kotb continued, “There’s the guilt you carry because you can’t be 100% at work and 100% at home. Something has to give if you want excellence. If you’re going to be excellent at work, something has to give at home. And if you want to be excellent at home, I meanexcellent, and do all the things, something has to give at work. It can’t be equal.”

When is Hoda Kotb’s last day onToday?

Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager co-hosting ‘Today with Hoda & Jenna’ on December 3, 2024 in New York City.Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Friday, Jan. 10 will mark Kotb’s last day on theTodayshow, and the NBC morning show has dubbed the week leading up to her departure as a “Hoda-bration.”

Who is replacing Hoda Kotb on theTodayshow?

Craig Melvin and Hoda Kotb co-hosting the ‘Today’ show on July 7, 2022 in New York City.Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Craig Melvin will replace Kotb as co-anchor of theTodayshow alongside Guthrie beginning Jan. 13. He already hosts the third hour of the NBC morning show with Roker,Sheinelle JonesandDylan Dreyer.

“You are made for this job,” Kotb said to Melvin during the on-air announcement in November 2024. “You are literally made for this job. You are that kind of good. You have all the things that this job needs. You’re the right person for it.”

In preparation for Kotb’s exit, NBC has rebranded theTodayshow’s fourth hour. It will now be calledToday withJenna & Friends,andBush Hager will have a revolving cast of guest co-hosts until a permanent co-host is named.

Taraji P. Henson,Keke PalmerandEva Longoriawill be thefirst “friends” to appearon the show.

What is Hoda Kotb going to do next?

Hoda Kotb with her daughter Hope Catherine and Haley Joy.Hoda Kotb/Instagram

Hoda Kotb/Instagram

Kotb is leaning into wellness in her next chapter. While speaking to PEOPLE in October 2024, the broadcaster revealed that she has plans tolaunch a wellness app and host retreats.

“I think it would be, number one, fun, and number two, helpful,” she said of the project still in its early stages. “It is something that I’m excited about exploring.”

She’s also ready to fully embrace life with her daughters in the suburbs of New York. The familymoved out of the cityin late 2024, something Kotb told PEOPLE wasn’t an easy choice.

“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 explained. “I just see that life for them in this perfect house in this beautiful little town where I know they’ll be able to blossom into beautiful, independent, strong women.”

Kotb’s daily routine will also look drastically different now that she doesn’t have to wake up at 3 a.m. for her anchoring job.

“I’m sleeping in,” she told PEOPLE when asked what her first day off will look like. “I’m going to go to a 5:30 SoulCycle. I’m going to feed my kids breakfast. I’m going to get a hot cup of coffee. I am going to walk with them to school, which is going to be one of the most amazing things. Small, but amazing.”

source: people.com