TODAY Show’s Hoda Kotb is set to be celebrated with an over-the-top goodbye bash and a final show full of surprises before her exit.
Insiders exclusively told The U.S. Sun that a big celebration is in the works for the beloved 60-year-old newswoman for her final day at Today on January 10.
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Hoda Kotb, as seen on Today Show, will be celebrated with a bash for the end of her morning show grindCredit: Getty
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Hoda’s closest colleagues including Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and her replacement Craig Melvin are all expected to attend the bash (at Rockefeller tree lighting)Credit: Getty
“They are planning a big goodbye party for Hoda to celebrate her incredible run with the show and give her a proper sendoff before she moves into her new role with the network,” one insider said.
Hoda’s NBC family including Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and her replacement, Craig Melvin, will all receive a coveted invite, the source claimed.
Meanwhile, a second insider revealed that fans can expect lots of surprises on Hoda’s last day, with the details being held tightly under wraps by NBC execs.
The NBC veteran has been looking forward to this next chapter of her life after the morning show grind, and is eagerly awaiting a much simpler life once she is done with Today.
Speaking on her Making Space podcast in December, she said she is excited to walk her kids to school with her cup of coffee, and added “It’s all the little things, you get to see growth.”
PERSPECTIVE SHIFT
The doting single mother’s view on work changed in 2023 after her youngest daughter Hope was hospitalized.
The now 5-year-old was involved in a “scary” medical incident which left her in intensive care for almost a week.
One insider recently told The U.S. Sun: “When Hope was sick and hospitalized, everything changed for Hoda with her views on work.”
The late-in-life mother adopted Haley and Hope when she was in her fifties, and has said she is acutely aware of how quickly the years are passing.
“Obviously I had my kiddos late in life. I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie than I have. We only have a finite amount of time.”
Hoda Kotb announces she’s leaving Today show after 5 years as co-anchor in ‘painful’ decision
Beyond wanting to be there more for her daughters, the morning show veteran has found the 4am alarm increasingly difficult to contend with.
An insider previously said: “I think people don’t realize to be on morning TV, it’s like being an athlete. Your whole life is about that.”
NEW CHAPTER
Hoda stepped into Savannah’s co-anchor role in 2018 after disgraced host Matt Lauer was fired.
TODAY Show hosts
NBC’s Today show premiered in 1952 and has bidden viewers good morning every weekday since, adding Saturday and Sunday shows in the 1980s and 1990s. The show’s current host lineup includes:
Hoda Kotb
Al Roker
Savannah Guthrie
Craig Melvin
Jenna Bush Hager
Carson Daly
Sheinelle Jones
Dylan Dreyer
Peter Alexander
Kristen Welker
Willie Geist
While Hoda is leaving Today, she isn’t leaving NBC entirely.
An insider said she will be staying with the network, and fans can expect to see Hoda doing special correspondent work and interviewing celebrities in long-format segments.
The mom-of-two also plans to continue recording her podcast and writing children’s books.
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A source said that NBC execs are planning big surprises for Hoda’s last day on the show January 10Credit: Getty
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Hoda stepped into her role at Today as co-anchor along with Savannah in 2018 after Matt Lauer was fired amid his MeToo scandal
