Hoda Kotb (left) and Jenna Bush Hager on the fourth hour of the Today show on Jan. 10, 2024 in New York City. Photo:
NBC
Jenna Bush Hager said a tearful goodbye to her former Today with Hoda & Jenna co-host Hoda Kotb.
Kotb, 60, departed the morning show after 17 years on the Friday, Jan. 10, episode of the Today show. During her final episode, Bush Hager, 43, also took a moment to bid farewell to her co-host of five years.
Kotb received a standing ovation at the top of the show, with Bush Hager joking that the episode was “brought to you by Kleenex.”
“I can’t believe that everybody came,” Kotb said. “This is so … Jenna and I were in the back trying to figure out how we would do this particular show and I said to something to Hayley at the very beginning. I said, ‘When you get emotional, sometimes love feels like this.’ So this is what love feels like.”
An emotional Bush Hager told Kotb how much she means to her and spoke of their special bond.
“I think what’s really amazing is we’ve had these years, and endings can be hard, and they can be so beautiful because it’s the start of something new,” Bush Hager said before asking Kotb, “How does today feel?”
Kotb said she’d been hoping for the week to slow down. “Last night I was like, I hope Friday doesn’t get here because I knew it was this particular Friday, but I think we’ve been in slow motion,” she said. “We need meds!”
Bush Hager agreed. “I’ve been desperate for some beta blockers!” she said. “Like, how can we control emotions?”
Jenna Bush Hager is pictured getting teary eyed during Today with Hoda and Jenna. NBC
Kotb didn’t think they needed to. “Just let it go man, who cares? Who cares?” the journalist said.
Bush Hager teared up again when the rest of their Today show colleagues — Carson Daly, Dylan Dreyer, Willie Geist, Savannah Guthrie, Craig Melvin and Al Roker — joined them on stage, and she got emotional reading a letter she wrote to Kotb.
“My dearest, you are teaching us the most important lesson of all — how to say goodbye with grace,” Bush Hager said. “This isn’t just any Hodini, driving off with my purse still in your car, you have been able to sit in the glow of the goodbye! Viewers have traveled miles, from other states to declare their love on poster board, every single guest has gotten to share their Hoda story: how you have made them feel seen, and heard.”
“Thank you Hoda for everything you have taught me, everything you’ve given me: all the hugs, all the heart all the laughs, all the love.”
Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on the ‘Today’ show on Nov. 1, 2021. Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Later, Kotb read a letter she wrote to Bush Hager, calling their time together “the ride of a lifetime.”
“We need a Kleenex shooter!” Bush Hager joked while dabbing at tears.
Bush Hager closed out the show standing in front of the Today with Hoda & Jenna cast and crew with Kotb and her daughters.
“Thanks ya’ll for believing in us,” Bush Hager said. “And Hoda, we love you!”
Ahead of Kotb’s final day, the NBC show coined a “Hoda-bration,” a celebration of Kotb’s final days with the outlet. On the Monday, Jan. 6 episode, the co-hosts were emotional throughout the week, with Bush Hager gifting Kotb a heartfelt farewell gift.
“We wanna kick off the week with a little something, and we know you love this author, Charlie Mackesy,” Bush Hager revealed. “He wrote The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.”
“That’s one of my favorite books. I love him,” Kotb interjected as Bush Hager said, “I know, and he adores you.” She revealed the British writer’s gift was a painting drawn in the same style as The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, which reads, “Every step you take is a victory.” He also wrote “Hoda” on the art, and signed it, “Love, Charlie.”
Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on December 3, 2024 on NBC’s Today Show. Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty
Bush Hager has been vocal about her sadness in losing her co-host, and in early December, she said she was in “the phase of losing Hoda called studying.”
“I’m studying Hoda at this point, and I’d like to study your behaviors tonight and see how you’ve changed,” Bush Hager said.
Bush Hager joked that she’d been going through the stages of grief since Kotb announced her plans to leave the Today show in September. “Denial lasted a good month. Anger was last week when I tried to make you jealous with Gayle [King],” she said. “I’ve bargained with God basically every night for the last couple months. And now, I’ve hit depression, where she says one thing and [I cry].”
Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on Monday, January 6, 2025. Nathan Congleton/NBC
NBC announced on Nov. 14 that Craig Melvin will be replacing Kotb after she steps away. Melvin, 45, currently hosts the third hour of Today alongside Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer and will move to hosting three hours in a row, starting on Monday, Jan. 13.
Then, on Monday, Jan. 6, Bush Hager announced on the air that Taraji P. Henson, Eva Longoria and Keke Palmer would be a part of the rotating list of celebrity guests who will be stepping in to help fill the empty slot. The following day, she announced that Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson would be joining Bush Hager, beginning Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Today airs weekdays on NBC beginning at 7 a.m. ET.
