Jenna Bush Hager has shared how she found out Hoda Kotb was leaving TODAY and how she’s processed Hoda’s decision now that she’s had time to take it in.

The two hosted the fourth hour of TODAY together for five-plus years before Hoda announced in September that she is leaving the show in early January 2025.

Jenna spoke on her “Open Book with Jenna” podcast with actor, singer and “Las Culturistas” podcast host Matt Rogers about that emotional moment.

“I think it’s sort of how you were talking about having a heartbreak,” Jenna said. “I mean, to be totally honest, I was shocked. Shocked.”

She learned about Hoda’s decision before Hoda announced it live on TODAY on Sept. 26.

“I found out, like, the week before,” Jenna said. “She told me as soon as she’d made the decision, but it was — you know, Hoda does things. And this is why I admire her so much, is that she really listens to herself, and therefore she makes decisions which can feel surprising to others and just right for her.”

Hoda told People in October that her daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, were also a critical factor in her decision to step away. Jenna said she was initially “shocked” when Hoda told her she was leaving TODAY.Nathan Congleton / TODAY
“There’s the guilt you carry because you can’t be 100% at work and 100% at home,” she said. “Something has to give if you want excellence.”

Jenna has had time to reflect on Hoda’s choice after initially being surprised and joking about it in the first staff meeting following the announcement.

“Now that I’ve had time to process it, I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, I totally get it,'” she said. “But I was saying when everybody’s like, ‘Oh my God, congratulations,’ it’s like, I feel like I’ve been dumped. Not really, because it’s like, she’s choosing herself. I get that. But my heart was, is broken a little.”

Jenna had a similar reaction on the Oct. 25 episode of TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, held in Austin, Texas, when talking to the crowd about Hoda leaving.

“If any of y’all have ever been in a relationship like this one where it’s like we’re partners in everything — I mean, first of all, when I told my kids Hoda was leaving, I might as well have said Daddy’s leaving, because they were like, wait, what? Why?” she told the audience. “You know, they couldn’t understand it, and I understood it, even though my heart was broken.”

Hoda also gave an idea of what’s ahead for her, saying she wants to “live in wellness” after she leaves TODAY.

“I want to work in that space,” Hoda said. “I want to start things. I’ve got things that are percolating inside that I’m going to hopefully have fully formed soon.”