Fans of the Today show were heartbroken this week when longtime host Hoda Kotb announced that she’s leaving the morning show, but no one has been more emotional about the change than her Hoda & Jenna cohost, Jenna Bush Hager. On Thursday, Jenna broke down in tears talking about how much Hoda has meant to her throughout her career. The show won’t be the same without seeing these two together!
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Jenna got choked up talking about how much Hoda means to her.
Without even trying to hold back her tears, Jenna talked about how Hoda took a chance on her more than 10 years ago.
“You are who I come to, and you believed in me first,” she said on Today. “We have a lot of bosses and I love them, but this lady on October 28, 2013 — I looked it up — said, ‘Hey, want to come sit next to me? There’s room.'”
Jenna only found out about Hoda's departure a few days before everyone else did.
“Hoda told me just a couple days ago, and when she told me, my first reaction, it was, from my gut, it was almost crazy,” she said. “I said, ‘No, you can’t leave because what we have here with all of these people.’ What I get to sit next to you and feel is this, it’s what’s between us, and it is magical and powerful, and it feels like that here.”
The two have been hosting their Hoda & Jenna segment for five years, so this will be a big change for them both.
Hoda announced her big news on Thursday.
After spending 26 years at NBC, Hoda told the audience that turning 60 is what inspired the change for her, though she admitted it was the “hardest thing in the world” to do. The reason is simple: She wants to spend more time with her daughters, 7-year-old Haley and 5-year-old Hope.
“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. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time,” she said.
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Hoda isn't worried about how Jenna will do without her.
They haven’t announced who — if anyone — will replace Hoda on the show, but there’s no doubt that person will have huge shoes to fill. Still, Hoda is convinced that Jenna can hold her own.
“Whoever sits in this seat is going to have the easiest job in the world because they’re sitting next to you,” she told her cohost during the show. “The only thing they have to do is not laugh so hard they pee their pants. That it’s, they just have to hang on. You’re this bright light, you always have been.”
Hoda's not leaving just yet, though.
It will be business as usual for Hoda through the end of the year, with her departure planned for early 2025. And even after that, she will continue to work with NBC, though the network hasn’t shared any details on that front just yet.
Having three more months to work together is something that Jenna said she’s grateful for. “I promise you the next three months are not just going to be a sobfest. We’re going to have fun. We’re going to celebrate you,” she said.
