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Jenna Bush Hager Tearfully Called Dad George W. Bush After Hoda Kotb Revealed ‘Today’ Departure
Jenna Bush Hager was bawling on Today With Hoda & Jenna after Hoda Kotb announced she will be leaving Today.
The Thursday, September 26, episode of the show was full of tears and shocking revelations for both the cast and crew. Hoda, 60, was front and center as she revealed that she will mark her final Today broadcast next year.
“My broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie,” she said as the reason behind her decision. “I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited.”
On Today With Hoda & Jenna, Jenna recalled how Hoda always believed in her, even before she secured a full-time job on Today.
“You are who I come to, and you believed in me first,” Jenna said as tears fell down her face. “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.'”
Hoda replied, “Looking at you and seeing magic was one of the easiest things I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Hoda remembered that Jenna called her father, former President George W. Bush, when she landed her present Today gig.
“You called your dad, and I remember when you first started working together with me, you were afraid,” Hoda said.
“I called my dad when I started and he said, ‘I’m so happy for you. And Hoda’s the star. You’re going to be OK with that, right? You’re going to be OK sharing the spotlight with the star?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, of course,’” Jenna reflected.
Once she learned that Hoda was leaving the show, Jenna decided to give her dad a call to tell him the news.
“I called him last night. First, he thought something really awful [happened], like a lost loved one, because of how emotional I was,” she shared. “And then he said, ‘Oh, she’s leaving because it’s time, and you’re going to be fine. It’s your turn. It’s OK.”
“It’s your turn,” Hoda replied. “Whoever sits in this seat is going to have the easiest job in the world because they’re sitting next to you. 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, and it’s your turn. Your dad is so wise.”
“If I’m bright, it’s because I’m sitting in your glow,” Jenna added.
Hoda’s replacement in the show’s fourth hour has not yet officially been announced. However, there are several contenders who would be a great fit to jump into the role, like Willie Geist, Sheinelle Jones and Craig Melvin.
Still, she will be remaining on the program until early 2025 and will still be a part of the NBC family. The possibilities are endless in the next phase of Hoda’s life, but she is determined to spend more time with her kids, Haley and 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,” she said. “I feel like we only have a finite amount of time.”
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