Why Hoda Kotb Wore “M” Necklace During Today Show Exit Announcement
Hoda Kotb Tearfully Announces She’s Leaving the Today Show Early Next Year
Hoda Kotb is ready for the latest segment her life has to offer.
While announcing her departure from the Today show Sept. 26 after nearly two decades, the longtime host was sporting a very sentimental piece of jewelry: an “M” charm necklace that she previously shared stands for “Mom.”
And those aren’t the only charms that have a special meaning. Hoda revealed that she also rocks pieces with special shout outs to her daughters Haley Joy, 7, and Hope Catherine, 5.
“I have ‘Haley’ and ‘Hope’ on (one of them),” she explained during an episode of Today in 2022. “Then I have an ‘I love you Mama’ on this one. All of them are my girls.”
But the “M” necklace had a particularly special meaning for Hoda, as she told cohost Jenna Bush Hager at the time, “The ‘M’ is so me. That would be the initial I would want to wear if not my kids’ initials. Because who knew that I was gonna get to wear that initial?”
And Hoda’s life as a mother actually played a role in her decision to step away from Today.
“Obviously I had my kiddos late in life,” the 60-year-old shared during her Sept. 26 announcement, “and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have.”
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She added, “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.”
The anchor also explained that turning 60 felt like the right time to make a shift and “try something new,” noting that it was something she realized after her birthday celebrations.
“I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs,” Hoda recalled, “and I thought, ‘This is what the top of the wave feels like for me.’ And I thought it can’t get better, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on.”
And while the veteran journalist won’t be saying goodbye officially until early next year, some folks, like Today meteorologist Dylan Dreyer, are already thinking ahead as to who could fill her shoes.
Instagram/Hoda Kotb
“I don’t think if they named anyone in our core group of people it would be surprising,” Dylan exclusively told E! News at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards Sept. 26. “We’ve all filled in along the way when somebody’s out. I don’t know if anybody’s made any decisions yet, but if it’s one of the core group, I really don’t think it’s that surprising.”
According to Dylan, that core group—which includes Jenna, Craig Melvin, Sheinelle Jones and Carson Daly, as well as Weekend Today co-anchors Peter Alexander and Laura Jarrett—are “such a family,” and any of them would be incredible alongside co-anchor Savannah Guthrie.
But for now, Hoda will continue as a fixture of weekday mornings.
To see more of the Today host and her family over the years, keep reading.
(E! and Today are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Mother’s Day Surprise
Hoda got emotional as Haley and Hope surprised her with an early Mother’s Day gift.
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.”
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