Hoda Kotb’s ‘painful’ decision to leave US Today

US Today host Hoda Kotb has announced she is leaving the show after a decade at the helm of the NBC stalwart.
Kotb, 60, wiped away tears as she shared the news with her co-hosts, saying she made the decision after celebrating her birthday milestone.
“I realised that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new,” she said.
“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.’
READ MORE: Superstar brings special plus one to event
“I thought, ‘It can’t get better’, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on.”
Kotb, who is mum to Haley, seven, and Hope, five, said she is looking forward to spending more time with her children.
“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 explained.
READ MORE: Why Melania and Donald chose not to have anymore children
“I feel like we only have a finite amount of time. And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”
Kotb was supported by colleagues Al Roker, Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie, Jenna Bush Hager, and Sheinelle Jones while she made the announcement.
Kotb’s career at NBC has spanned 27 years including reporting duties and hosting Today.
In a statement shared on Today.com, she said: “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 Dateline, seven on the seven o’clock hour, sixteen on the ten o’clock hour.”
For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.
She continued: “I’m picturing your faces and your families and all the ways you’ve lifted me up and inspired me.
“That’s my heart singing. So many of my professional relationships have become some of my most cherished friendships.”
Kotb said her 60th birthday celebration on the show “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. I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited.”
READ MORE: Why these bone conduction headphones are game-changing for runners
Kotb isn’t leaving NBC completely and will remain on the Today desk until 2025 ahead of her replacement being announced.
She will remain as a contributor to the network and various shows.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.