NEW YORK — Hoda Kotb, a beloved mainstay of NBC News’ “TODAY” for nearly two decades, announced Thursday that she will step down from the morning show.
NBC News reports that she made the decision after turning 60 in August.
“I realized it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and try something new,” she said, fighting back tears. She also said that her daughters and her mother “need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie.”
Kotb has co-anchored “TODAY” with Savannah Guthrie since early 2018. They were the show’s first all-female anchor team.
Kotb joined NBC News as a correspondent for “Dateline” in 1998. She joined “TODAY” in 2007.
Guthrie said the “TODAY” team doesn’t “want to imagine this place without you.” Guthrie praised Kotb for her “guts” and said she is loved by all her colleagues.
Kotb said she would stay with “TODAY” through the start of next year.
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