Hoda Kotb Breaks Silence With Tell-All Interview After Shocking 'Today' Exit: 'I Had This Kind of Knowing Everything Was Pointing to This'
Hoda Kotb opened up about her exit from Today after her 17-year stint on the show.
Hoda Kotb "felt it in her bones" that after 17 years on Today, it was time to move on.
The TV host, who spent seven years in the anchor chair and 26 total working for NBC, finally opened up about her shocking exit — saying she will focus on her "next chunk of life" following her departure early next year, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Kotb is focusing on her next 'chunk of life' following her departure from Today.
Kotb stunned fans in late September by announcing she would be stepping away from the morning show. The reveal came just weeks after the show celebrated her milestone 60th birthday in August.
In a new tell-all interview with People, the host joked about her nickname — Hodini — given to her because she "always leaves the party early".
The same went for her exit from Today, except she generally feels "comfortable" with her choices and knows they "serve her properly".
The NBC anchor announced her emotional exit at the end of September, weeks after she celebrated her 60th birthday.
Turning 60 was an eye-opener for Kotb, who confessed she spent time reflecting on what truly mattered to her in the years ahead.
She said: "I've kind of been contemplating, wondering, thinking about what I wanted this next chunk of my life to look like as I turned 60."
"I like adventure, I like new beginnings. I'm a sunrise person and not a sunset person, and I was wondering, what does it look like for me? And I realized I was at the top of the wave."
After attending the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer and receiving an outpouring of love on her birthday, the anchor was ready for a switch.
She explained: "There had been discussions about my contract leading up to this, and I was sort of saying, 'You know what? I am kind of in a different place.'"
"In that moment, it was both among the best times of my professional career and also the end of it. I knew it, like I felt it in my bones."
She added: "I had this kind of knowing. Everything was pointing toward this."
Kotb's decision to leave NBC came after a difficult year, especially in terms of her younger daughter Hope's medical crisis in February 2023.
While the anchor declined to give specifics out of privacy concerns, the 5-year-old's health scare left the family scrambling for answers and searching for long-term solutions.
Hope's situation has improved over the past six months, as Kotb chose to move her family — including 7-year-old daughter Haley — to a bigger house in Westchester, New York.
Moving out of the Upper West Side, Kotb said having more space and "being able to touch the grass" has had a massive impact on her daughter's well-being.
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She said: "We're in a place where hope is thriving. She is improving, we're watching her, and I think that as time goes on, we'll have a better handle on it, but we're already seeing great differences."
Kotb also noted that Hope has "really excellent care" and is "finding steady footing". As her daughter's situation has improved, Kotb is now planning to put her time and family at the forefront.
Kotb was a part of history on Today alongside host Savannah Guthrie, as they became the first all-female anchor team in the show's history.
In terms of who will fill her shoes after her departure, Kotb said whoever it is will be successful if they remain completely authentic.
She said: "Whoever's interested in that seat — and it's maybe the best seat in television — the best advice I have is to be 1,000% who you are, because that's really the key."
"And the other thing too is sometimes to me, part of the magic is to be able to delight in the person sitting next to you. It's such a small thing, but sometimes when you're with someone, if you just let them shine. Give everyone a second, because who wants to be the person at the cocktail party who's talking all the time?"
Kotb will be focusing more on her family and two young daughters after leaving Today.
Speaking of cocktail parties — Kotb is gearing up to attend some herself.
She explained: "To have kind of a social life will be new for me," adding that she's never taken more than a couple days off from work at a time.
Kotb added: "I went to a barbecue and I was up till 9 pm and I felt like I was on a bender. But you know what? I'm not going to be playing beat the clock all the time anymore."
The anchor has woken up at 3:30 am nearly every day — including weekends — for years.
The anchor advised whoever 'takes her seat' to be completely authentic to themselves.
She also alluded to finding romance "way down the road", adding: "I don't know how and when it will come, but when I close my eyes, I can see it."
For now, the Today anchor is planning on spending time with her young daughters — who are looking forward to having more of their mom around.
Kotb said: "I was like, 'Guess what? Mommy is going to be able to take you to school now.' They said, 'Wednesday?' I go, 'No honey, not Wednesday.' 'Well, Thursday?' I go, 'No, no, no, honey, it's going to be like after January.'"
She joked: "It'll sink in eventually."
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