Hoda Kotb is celebrating her new chapter after her last Today present look.
The 60-year-old broadcaster took to social media on Monday, January 13, with a optimistic message about beginning over. “And abruptly, … it’s time to start out one thing new and belief the magic of recent beginnings,” learn a quote she shared through her Instagram feed.
Within the caption, Kotb added, “Right here’s to everybody beginning recent— @craigmelvinnbc and @savannahguthrie ….. @jennabushhager and mates.. and to me! Lets do that!”
The shout-out got here as Craig Melvin ready to step in as Kotb’s replacement on the NBC morning present. Kotb introduced in September 2024 that she can be leaving the collection after practically 30 years working on the community. Melvin’s new function was confirmed two months later.
“I wish to, clearly, thank NBC and the parents right here who deemed me worthy,” Melvin, 45, mentioned on the time, noting that he felt “past excited and grateful” for the brand new alternative. “I’ve loved only a lifetime of blessings, and that is the newest in an extended line of blessings.”
Kotb assured her colleague that he was “made for this job,” including, “You’re that type of good. You have got all of the issues that this job wants. You’re the proper particular person for it.”
Following months of buildup, Kotb formally mentioned goodbye to the As we speak present on Friday, January 10, concluding a week-long “Hoda-bration” in her honor. She obtained emotional whereas praising her cohosts, together with Savannah Guthrie, and wished Melvin good luck on his new journey.
“Savannah, oh, my God. You’re my particular person, you’re my particular person. You understand who exhibits up for everyone? This lady. … She’s within the room, she’s at all times within the room, and I like you,” she gushed. “Craig, I’m so comfortable for you. You’ve earned this, you personal this, and are available Monday at 7 o’clock a.m., I’m gonna be useless asleep. However you’re gonna be implausible. You’re gonna convey it residence. Craig, you’re gonna be so good. You and Savannah are gonna be magic.”
Throughout Monday’s episode, Kotb despatched a video message to Melvin to have fun his new function. She wrote him a letter, which was learn on the air after Guthrie discovered it in hidden within the studio. Melvin was overcome with emotion as his household supported him on the broadcast.
Kotb beforehand defined that her departure from the As we speak present was impressed by her daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 5. She additional detailed her determination in a letter shared through As we speak.com final fall.
“I’ve been weighing this determination for fairly some time — am I really prepared?” she wrote. “However, my sixtieth birthday celebration on the Plaza felt like a shift. Like a large, joyful YES, you might be! I noticed all of it so clearly: my broadcast profession has been past significant, a brand new decade of my life lies forward, and now my daughters and my mother want and deserve a much bigger slice of my time pie. I’ll miss you all desperately, however I’m prepared and excited.”
Kotb added on the time that she deliberate on staying “part of the NBC household,” calling her time on the community “the longest work relationship I’ve been fortunate sufficient to carry near my coronary heart.”
With Melvin filling her sneakers on the morning present and a rotating list of guest hosts becoming a member of Jenna Bush Hager on As we speak With Jenna & Buddies, Kotb is able to sit again and calm down — even turning off her early morning alarms.
“No alarm…whaaaaaaaattttt???” she teased through Instagram on Sunday, January 12, earlier than her first time without work the air.