Hoda Kotb ‘Realized She Wanted to Be Home More’ After Daughter Hope Got Sick in 2023

Hoda Kotb’s two daughters, Haley and Hope, were a huge reason why she decided to step away from Today, an insider exclusively tells Closer.

“She’s been seriously thinking about it for a while, but it really kicked in when her youngest, Hope, got sick last year,” the source says. “She really thought long and hard about her priorities after that. She realized she wanted to be home more.”

In February 2023, Hoda, 60, took time off from Today when her youngest daughter, Hope, was hospitalized due to an undisclosed illness. She shares her kids with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman.

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After a hiatus from the talk show, Hoda returned to TV in March 2023.

“My youngest, Hope, was in the ICU for a few days and in the hospital for a little more than a week,” Hoda told Today viewers at the time. “I’m so grateful she’s home. She is back home. I was waiting for that day to come. And we are watching her closely. I’m just so happy.”

“I’m grateful for the doctors at Weill Cornell who were amazing and the nurses,” Hoda added. “And I’m grateful to my family, and I’m grateful to friends like you who were there every single day. So, I want to say thank you for that. I love you.”

Her Today costars supported her through the difficult time, filling in for her on the show in her absence. In May 2023, Hoda shared a health update for Hope, thanking all of the medical professionals who helped nurse her back to health during National Nurses Week.

“I was just thinking about when Hope was in the hospital for one of those days … It was 3 a.m., and I was just sitting in this chair,” Hoda said on Today. “This nurse walked in and — I still remember — put her hand on my back … didn’t even say anything. Just sat there for a minute. A lot of what [nurses] do isn’t just about giving the IV and the needles and the stuff and the tests and all those things. It’s more than that.”

“I remember I was there, and I asked for a bath for [Hope]. I wanted to give her a bath, and they could only sponge her, and I said, ‘Please, I’m begging you,’” Hoda recalled. “‘I just want a bath here for my child,’ and I remember we got this little plastic thing, and we put it in the shower and put Hope in it. And I remembered like that tiny thing, but it was everything at that time.”

Hoda made her big announcement about leaving Today during an episode of the show on September 26. She mentioned how becoming a mom later in life was one of the reasons why she felt it was time to make a big career change.

“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,” the broadcaster explained. “I feel like we only have a finite amount of time. And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”

While she is leaving the talk show in early 2025, she will still remain part of the NBC family.