Hoda Kotb makes stunning announcement no one saw coming

On Sept. 26, a letter Hoda Kotb wrote to her “Today Show” colleagues was shared publicly. “As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” she began the letter.

After more than five years as a co-anchor for the popular morning news show, Kotb shared that she will be stepping down soon.

“I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful one,” Kotb told her colleagues. “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.”

Although she’s been a ”Today Show” co-anchor for the last five years, Kotb has been an NBC staple for nearly 30 years, Today reports.

“My time at NBC has been the longest professional love affair of my life,” Kotb continued. “But only because you’ve been beside me on this twenty-six-year adventure.”

“Looking back, the math is nuts,” she wrote. “26 years at NBC News — Ten years at ‘Dateline,’ seven on the seven o’clock hour, sixteen on the ten o’clock hour.”

Kotb thanked her colleagues for how they’ve lifted her up and inspired her all this years, adding that many of her professional relationships have turned into her “most cherished friendships.”

She then addressed her on-air colleagues individually.

“Savannah: my rock. Jenna: my ride-or-die. Al: my longest friend at 30 Rock. Craig, Carson, Sheinelle and Dylan: my family. Libby, Mazz and Talia: my fearless leaders,” she said. “I will miss each and every one of you at TODAY desperately.”

Kotb went on to explain that the decision to leave ”The Today Show” has been one she’s mulled over for a while, never truly knowing if she was ready. But now it’s time for her daughters, Haley Joy and Hope Catherine to get more time with their mom.

She wrote, about the moment it all became clear to her. “My sixtieth birthday celebration on the Plaza felt like a shift. Like a massive, joyful YES, you are!”

“ I saw it all so clearly: my broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie. I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited.”

Kotb says she’ll be stepping down from her co-anchor duties after January 2025 but will continue to remain a part of the NBC family in some capacity.

“I’ll be around,” she wrote. “How could I not? Family is family and you all will always be a part of mine.”