Hoda Kotb has no regrets about her recent Today show exit.
“I have no FOMO, which is so funny because I knew 100 [percent]. I don’t have an ounce of it,” Kotb, 60, exclusively told Us Weekly at Runway for Recovery’s inaugural New York City fashion show at The Lighthouse, Chelsea Piers, on Thursday, February 27. “[It] doesn’t mean I didn’t love it. At the end when my heart broke, I was like, ‘That’s love.’ But it also is, I feel like my gaze is set forward.”
Kotb announced she would be leaving Today after nearly 20 years on the NBC morning show in September 2024, citing turning 60 and wanting to spend more time with her daughters — Haley, 8, and Hope, 5 — as the main reasons behind her decision.
“I never had a second thought because some things can be hard and right,” she explained to Us. “I think if anyone’s ever gone through any kind of an ending and a beginning, sometimes it’s really difficult, but also 100 percent right. And I knew it in my heart. I know it just like I’m saying it today. I knew it then. … It’s sort of like life speaks to you and whispers, and pretty soon, they turn into screams. But I felt the whisper, I knew it, and I didn’t ignore it. I didn’t push it down. I didn’t say, ‘Not right now.’ I knew it was right.”
Nathan Congleton/NBC Hoda Kotb’s tenure on the Today show was full of many memorable moments. The TV personality announced in September 2024 that she would be departing the iconic morning show after 26 years on NBC, 16 years as a Today cohost and seven years as Savannah Guthrie’s co-anchor. “I just turned 60, and it […]
The decision is one Kotb thinks was “exactly right” for the show, as well. “It was perfect timing for me and beautiful timing for Craig [Melvin] and Savannah [Guthrie],” she said. “I feel like life works out. Don’t you feel like it? I feel like we’re in flow. That’s what’s happening.”
Kotb bid farewell to Today on January 10, ending her final episode by driving away from 30 Rockefeller Plaza in her minivan with her kids. Now, she’s enjoying the suburban life with her two daughters, whom she shares with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman.
Hoda Kotb Eric Moran
“I get up at about 5 [a.m.]. I go to a SoulCycle class. I leave at 5:30. I love that class,” she told Us of her new day-to-day routine. “After that, I come home, shower, and then I feel like I’m alert, like, ‘Here we are.’ Then we do breakfast and all the things that come with breakfast.”
As for whether Kotb tunes in to NBC to watch her former colleagues on Today? “Of course,” she stated, adding that she thinks it’s “funny” when people question if she still watches the show.
“I love watching at 7 [a.m.] to see what’s happening. I love watching Jenna & Friends, ‘cause I’m like, ‘What friend is it gonna be?’” Kotb stated. “I’ve been speaking on the phone to Jenna [Bush Hager] a lot. I’ve been seeing Savannah. It’s been really beautiful and I’m super proud of both of them.”
She continued: “I’m especially proud of Jenna because she’s been having blind dates over and over. And by the way, she’s amazing. What it’s revealing is what I already knew, which is there’s nobody like her.” (Bush Hager, 43, has continued to cohost the show’s fourth hour, Today With Jenna & Friends, with a rotating lineup of guest hosts.)
Hoda Kotb Eric Moran
Following her Today exit, Kotb signed a deal with NBC to remain a special correspondent for the network, making occasional appearances on Today and continuing to cover the next two Olympic Games. She also revealed on The Kelly Clarkson Show last month that she’s in the “building process” of a “wellness app and company.”
Kotb also showed her support for local women and families impacted by metastatic breast cancer at Thursday’s Runway for Recovery fashion show fundraiser. “I had breast cancer several years back, and I know what it feels like and I remember all the feelings as we’re here today,” she told Us. “And I think the funny thing is a lot of people who were outside the Today show window for many, many years asked me about one thing, and they asked me about breast cancer. … You realize how many people have it and they just need to see somebody on the other side.”
Kotb said she “ran” at the chance to be a part of the organization’s fashion show. “It’s something I care a lot about and I hope that they raise a lot of money,” she stated.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
