Hoda Kotb is saying farewell with an emotional “love letter.”
On Jan. 10, her last day on TODAY, Hoda thanked her fans and looked back at her NBC News career in a letter that she also called a “thank you note.”
“To our viewers, who have been my extended TV family for the last 16 years here on the fourth hour of TODAY, this is a letter for you,” she said on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, which will be called TODAY with Jenna & Friends after Hoda’s departure.
“This is not a goodbye letter. This is a love letter, a love letter to you. It’s actually kind of a thank you note as well. So how do I say it? How do I say thank you for more hugs and more love than one person deserves?” she said.
Hoda then recalled co-hosting the fourth hour of TODAY alongside Kathie Lee Gifford from 2008 to 2019.
“Sixteen years ago, I sat next to Kathie Lee, and she changed my life,” Hoda said. “She chose me. And truth be told, I was scared. I had never done anything like this before. I was a hard-news person, a ‘Dateline’ person, and then one day she called me ‘Hoda Woman.’ I ripped off that news corset. We poured ourselves a glass of wine. And so it began.
“It went from ‘Hoda Woman’ to ‘Hoda Mama’ when Haley was born. I held Haley, and you held me. You supported me, the cards, the comments, the letters, I read them all, and then Hopey came too,” she added of her two kids, Haley, 8, and Hope, 5.
While recalling her “new era” with Jenna Bush Hager, Hoda said they had “six unforgettable years” together with “uncontrollable laughter and pure friendship.”
“I can hardly even say her name without laughing out loud. But that is not the part I fell in love with. I fell in love with her tears, her vulnerable, lovable self, and as I say in my cards to her, you’re all mine and we’re all ours,” she said.
Hoda ended her letter by recalling her 60th birthday celebration. When she announced her TODAY exit in September, Hoda said that turning 60 was a pivotal moment in her life because that was when she knew it was time for her to “try something new.”
“When I turned 60, you threw me one hell of a party. I reached the mountaintop so high on that day, I knew in that very moment there was no greater peak,” she said in her letter. “And along the way, you invited me into your lives, your triumphs, your special moments and your celebrations. Having a front-row seat to all of this truly helped shape who I am. Thank you so much for letting me be part of your journey.
“I have become who I am on this hour of this show, and you are there with me every step of the way. So as I sit here today in my final moments, on this final day in this chapter of my career, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my very full heart for the ride of a lifetime. I love you.”
Earlier in the episode, Jenna read aloud a letter that she prepared for Hoda as part of her co-host’s last day at TODAY. In the letter, Jenna thanked Hoda for everything she’s learned from her.
“You have taught me to really look into the eyes and the hearts of our guests and listen, how to really listen!” she said. “And now, my dearest, you are teaching us the most important lesson of all: how to say goodbye with grace.”
“Thank you, Hoda, for everything you have taught me, everything you’ve given me: all the hugs, all the heart, all the laughs, all the love. I will miss you, my friend, but I love you and I am so proud,” Jenna concluded. “Love always and forever, Jenna.”
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In September, Hoda announced that she would be leaving TODAY after spending 26 years at NBC News. Hoda explained that she felt it was time for her to spend more time with her daughters.
“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 said. “I feel like we only have a finite amount of time.”
Craig Melvin will replace Hoda as the co-anchor of TODAY alongside Savannah Guthrie beginning Jan. 13.
