Hoda Kotb is leaving TODAY early next year, she announced on the show Thursday.
The emotional co-host will remain a part of NBC family but called the decision “the hardest thing in the world.”
“I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new,” she said, per TODAY. “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.”
According to the report, Kotb shared a letter to the TODAY staff about her decision to step down from a position she has held for more than five years.
“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” the letter read, per the report. “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.”
Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.
