It’s a result we’ve been waiting for since she announced it in September, but Hoda Kotb is in the spotlight after her last day in Today’s program hits the TV lineup in 2025. For those who weren’t already crying after seeing BTS’ photos from the final day, tears may well flow upon learning of the touching gifts he received from co-host Savannah Guthrie before his much-publicized exit.
Guthrie, Al Roker and more paid tribute to their former coworker, in part by giving her some going away gifts as she steps away from the daytime show. Hoda Kotb said People about the many gifts he received from Guthrie, one of which was a symbol of his time in Today’s program:
Savannah just gave me a box that said, “Open for me now,” and it had two pom poms. She said, “You’ve been cheering everyone up, so now I want you to wear these pom poms.”
Hoda Kotb intends to spend more time with her daughters while she’s retired, but she’s also committed to continuing to hang out with her TV friends. The former host said she will continue her friendship with Jenna Bush Hager and others into the new year. In short, I bet you’ll wear those pom-poms and continue cheering up your friends even if you’ve stepped away from the spotlight.
Savannah Guthrie’s gifts weren’t limited to pom-poms. Guthrie, who has gotten to know Hoda Kotb quite well to the point that he was not surprised by her retirement announcement. Today’s program The hostess gifted her colleague with a few other personal items, one of which symbolized her future days of sleeping in. As she said:
He put on a clock with a smashed face and said, ‘Charlie broke it,’ which means, you know, I don’t need an alarm clock anymore! And the last thing he gave me was this bracelet. She gave me this ring that says “Love.” And she gave me this bracelet that says: ‘With you.’ Let me tell you something about her: she always shows up. She always shows up. That’s what she does best. She introduces herself to people, to her friends. She appears.
Hoda’s departure comes with Craig Melvin stepping in as her replacement, and it looks like she has big shoes to fill. Based solely on the gifts, I would say Today’s program He lost someone very dear to the staff, which would explain his seventeen years in the program. Ugh, I feel like I’m getting emotional and no one even gave me a sentimental gift!
While there has been no talk of her return to television, it seems that Hoda Kotb intends to remain active in other projects after leaving. Today’s program. she keeps working on it making space podcast, which recently released an episode with Maria Shriver. Practicing mindfulness and preaching its benefits to others is important to Kotb, who organized a weekend retreat for people on those topics in October.
While Craig Melvin has the job partly Today’s program duties, there are still questions about who will sit next to Jenna Bush Hager more permanently during her hour of the show. The host confirmed that it will be some time before they decide on a replacement, nothing that Hoda Kotb was the queen and will be difficult to replace. I think that’s an understatement, but I’m excited to see who will fill the role and continue to propel the NBC show into the future.
Today’s program airs on NBC weekdays starting at 7:00 a.m. ET. It’s always a great way to start the morning and get a feel for what the day has in store, assuming your readers are the type of people who wake up so early in the morning.
