Kathie Lee Gifford is sharing praise for Hoda Kotb after she announced her departure from Today.
The television personality, 71, shared a sweet message about her friend and former co-host following the announcement.
“Bittersweet news as my dear friend @hodakotb steps away from the Today Show,” she wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), alongside two photos of the pair hosting the fourth hour of Today.
“Her warmth, laughter, and incredible spirit have brightened our mornings and touched countless hearts,” she continued. “Here’s to new adventures!”
The pair hosted the fourth hour of Today from 2008 to 2018. Kotb, 60, said on an episode of Busy Philipps’s Busy This Week in July that working alongside Gifford for 11 years finally gave her a sense of career direction.
“It was always like I was putting a circle in a square,” she shared. “I could feel it. It just wasn’t right, and when I sat with Kat that very first time, I felt like I was riding a wave. I go, ‘Oh my God, this is what it feels like when you’re doing something you’re supposed to do.’ ”
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On Sept. 26, Kotb wrote a letter to her staff, detailing her reasons behind the decision to depart the NBC morning show before announcing it on the air.
“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” she wrote. “I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful one. And you all are the reason why. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I’m feeling that so deeply right now. I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”
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“My broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie,” she continued. “I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited.”
Kotb is slated to conclude her duties in early 2025 but she is still “gonna stay in the NBC family.”
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