Hoda Kotb admitted it will be a “scary restart” for her after she leaves her anchor job at Today.
The NBC morning program star announced in September last year that she would end her anchor career in early 2025 to spend more time with her family.
In addition, Hoda has other ventures, including a podcast and authoring books.
She’s worked for NBC News since April 1998 as a correspondent for Dateline NBC and other programs.
Honda eventually joined Today’s fourth-hour weekday morning program as a co-host with Kathie Lee Gifford, who Jenna Bush Hager later replaced.
As of January 2018, she began co-anchoring Today with Savannah Guthrie. However, Hoda is set to depart next week and is preparing for life after Today.
Hoda shared advice she received before ‘restart’
During a Living Well Today interview, Hoda spoke with motivational speaker and author Yasmine Cheyenne about wellness tips for the new year.
Among those tips were to choose a word for the year, spend time daydreaming, and write three goals for each area of life.
“I like the restarting portion of it,” Hoda told her guest.
“I think it’s scary to restart. Somebody gave me some good advice once: They said when you are taking a leap or a jump, you have to imagine yourself on the other side,” she shared.
“It’s almost like imagining what your new life would feel like when you repot or start over again,” the Today star said.
Cheyenne told Hoda to “be completely in a place of power of starting again and again and again.”
“The best thing we can do is quit well. The best thing we can do is say, ‘This is no longer working for me, and I’m gonna do something else. I’m gonna go in a different direction,’ she said.
Hoda and Today ready for emotional departure
While Hoda’s September 2024 announcement she was leaving Today brought many tears from her and co-stars, there are likely to be more on the way.
According to The U.S. Sun, an insider said the NBC program is working on a “big goodbye party” for Hoda to give her a “proper sendoff” after her career there.
There will also be “surprises” for the Today anchor and viewers. That might include guests dropping by the studio or sending pre-recorded messages, among other things.
Hoda’s already had multiple guests express their emotions about her departure, including Saturday Night Live’s Mikey Day and actors Jamie Lee Curtis and Jason Segal.
While Day expressed humorous outrage as if he hadn’t heard Hoda was leaving, Segal and Curtis caused her to tear up with their remarks.
Hoda’s official last day with NBC Today is Friday, January 10, and it will undoubtedly be an emotional time for everyone as they celebrate her.