Hoda Kotb Explains Moment She Realized ‘This Is It’ for Her at ‘Today’ Show: ‘I Knew in My Heart’

Hoda Kotb had an epiphany when she realized it was time for her to leave the Today show. The journalist appeared on the Monday, October 7, episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and opened up about the moment she knew she was ready to move on.

“When I turned 60 [in August], something weird happened, man,” Hoda, 60, told Jimmy, 50. “I turned 60 and we had this beautiful party at the Today show and I looked out at the sea of all the people who came and beautiful signs and so many well wishes, and I knew in my heart, like, this is it. This is what the mountaintop must feel like. I’ve never had that feeling before.”

On September 26, Hoda announced that she would be leaving Today after 16 years working on the NBC morning show. She will continue in her role as lead coanchor alongside Savannah Guthrie and coanchor of the fourth hour with Jenna Bush Hager until the beginning of 2025.

In her announcement letter to Today show staffers, Hoda admitted, “I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful one. 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.”

In addition to her 60th birthday epiphany, Hoda also cited her young daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, as her reason for wanting to scale back on work. “You just have a feeling when you watch them grow,” she explained to Jimmy. “And they need a little more of me and I need more of them. So I think it’s all going to work out beautifully.”

She also reiterated that her time with NBC isn’t over. “I’m going to be doing stuff here at NBC,” Hoda confirmed. “I’m going to stay with the family.” Hoda’s future role with the network – where she has been employed since 1998 – has not been revealed. 

“I actually started here 26 years ago,” Hoda recapped. “This is the longest love affair of my life at NBC and it really is a love affair.” 

During the interview, Jimmy joked about how much free time Hoda was going to have now that she doesn’t have to wake up at 3:15 a.m. He listed things she could do with her evenings now, including going to concerts and going on dates, which had Hoda cracking up.

“She’s always going to put her daughters first, but finding a man to share her happiness is a huge priority as well — as she’s freely admitted, time after time, on the show and outside of work,” a source previously told Closer. “This new schedule will enable Hoda to get out there and breathe, relax, then hopefully connect with that special someone at long last. It’s her firm belief that if she’d stayed on Today this wouldn’t have been possible”

Hoda’s replacement on the Today show has not been announced yet.