Kathie Lee Gifford Surprises Hoda Kotb With Heartwarming Reunion on Her Final Today Show

Today’s Hoda Kotb Tearfully Reveals Plans for Her First Day Off After Retirement

One last toast for Hoda Kotb.

And fittingly, her former cohost Kathie Lee Gifford was the one to do it. In honor of the long-time Today anchor’s final day Jan.10, the former Kathie Lee & Hoda host made a surprise appearance.

After a morning filled with special messages and surprises from Jimmy Fallon, Kermit the Frog, and Simone Biles in honor of Hoda’s final day at the Today Show, there was one person who couldn’t be forgotten.

At first, Kathie Lee appeared via a video message from Nashville with words of support for her longtime friend. However, just seconds later, the 71-year-old appeared in the studio, greeting her former cohost with a hug.

Sharing her surprise, Hoda gushed, “I wondered, because I love you so much, I was thinking to myself, ‘I sure hope that Kath comes.’ I’m so glad that you’re here.”

Kathie dazzled Hoda with a quick serenade of “The Best is Yet to Come,” before reflecting on the moment they became a team in 2008, after Kathie Lee spent most of her daytime career alongside Regis Philbin.

“I wasn’t interested in coming back to daytime television after 15 years with the king,” Kathie Lee said. “I just thought ‘I can’t do better than that.’”

But after having lunch together, Kathie Lee revealed that’s when she knew that she would be a perfect match with Hoda.

“I fell in love with Hoda at lunch in the Rainbow Room,” she said. “We closed down the Rainbow Room.”

Kathie Lee admitted that she initially signed on to do the fourth hour for one year. But her bond with her cohost-turned-friend was simply too strong.

“My problem is I fall in love, and I fell in love with Hoda,” she said. “And I said, ‘I don’t want to leave her.’ One thing I had in common with you, and with Regis—two very different people—I looked forward every single day to being with you both.”

Nathan Congleton/NBC

“She’s sunshine in a bottle. Especially in our world today which is so dark,” she continued. “You took away fear. You proved to me that you’re a fearless person. You are, because she didn’t do what she does now at the beginning. She was [a] world-renowned journalist, but she didn’t trust her performing instincts, and that wasn’t going to work with me.”

Hoda admitted that after years of covering more timely world events, she was “scared” to jump into a new role. Together, Kathie Lee and Hoda sat alongside each other, with a glass of wine, until Kathie Lee left in 2019. (She was replaced by Jenna Bush Hager.)

Before saying goodbye, Kathie Lee sent her friend off with one final toast, a prayer, and of course, a large glass of wine.

“May you walk into the most joyful, prosperous, purposeful time in your life with those precious daughters that I watched come into your life,” Kathie Lee shared of Hoda’s time with her daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4, through tears. “What a blessing it was. And once those babies came, I knew it was time, ‘She ain’t gonna be here for long.’”

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images

Hoda signed off one last time alongside her Today family, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones, Carson Daly, Dylan Dreyer, Craig Melvin, and Jenna on Jan. 10. And the longtime TV anchor gave a tearful goodbye to the network she’s been a part of for over two decades.

“Can I say thank you to every person who came out here,” Hoda said as she ended the 8 a.m. hour for the final time. “I read your cards. I got your bracelets. I got the scarves you crocheted. I got everything. I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Keep reading for more on Hoda’s life outside of the Today plaza…

(Today and E! are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)

Instagram/Hoda Kotb

Halloween 2024

After announcing she’s leaving Today, Hoda celebrates her first Halloween in the New York suburbs with her kids.

Instagram/Hoda Kotb

Cheer-Worthy

Haley and Hope match in cheerleader costumes.

Instagram

Mother’s Day Surprise

Hoda got emotional as Haley and Hope surprised her with an early Mother’s Day gift.

Instagram

Birthday Celebrations

Joined by her siblings Hala and Adel, nieces Hannah and Ella, mom Sami, daughters Haley Joy and Hope Catherine and fiancé Joel Schiffman, Hoda Kotb described the celebration as “my kinda birthday.”