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Hoda Kotb ‘Not Planning on Disappearing’ From NBC After ‘Today’ Departure: What’s Next for Her
Though Hoda Kotb will soon say goodbye to Today, fans of the longtime news anchor should not fret — she’ll be back, an insider exclusively tells Closer.
“She’s not planning on disappearing from the network,” the source reveals. “She’s hoping to do some specials and fill in from time to time.”
The 60-year-old journalist made her big announcement about leaving Today during the show’s September 26 episode. Her final day on the show will be in early 2025.
While many factors contributed to her Today departure, Hoda made it clear during her announcement that she wanted more time to enjoy being a mom of two to her young daughters, Haley and Hope.
“Obviously I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have,” the broadcaster explained to viewers. “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.”
Earlier this month, a separate source told Closer that “she’s got plenty of opportunities lined up,” adding, “The NBC bosses are desperate to keep her in the fold and ease her into a more serious anchor role for primetime specials.”
New opportunities at NBC such as late-night specials will be “great money” for the longtime TV personality, said the source. “And the best part of all is that she won’t be getting up at the crack of dawn, tiptoeing around Savannah [Guthrie], Jenna [Bush Hager] or other testy characters that were too much for her to stand towards the end.”
After many years on air with NBC, Hoda has “done it on her terms,” added the insider, “and has a lot to look forward to — even with the torture of working a few months’ notice.”
In an interview with People published October 11, Hoda also teased what’s next for her after her last day on Today.
“I have something that I am super excited about that’s in its infancy,” she revealed. “It’s a whole wellness situation, and I got lit up by that just from stuff I’ve been working on and doing on myself.”
Hoda then explained that she’s “learned to do a bunch of different things with breath works and what not through friends,” including Maria Shriver and more. “And I’ve been loving it.”
The journalist said that the project is still in the early stages of getting a “really good wellness app together and do wellness retreats and things like that.”
“I think it would be, number one, fun, and number two, helpful,” Hoda said. “When I learned some of these things, I was like, ‘Wait, why do I feel like my baseline feels less stressed? Why do I feel this way?’ So I was talking about this stuff, and so the more you’re interested the more you go down kind of that path.”
While her latest business venture is still “down the road,” Hoda said “it is something that I’m excited about exploring and seeing what’s out there.”
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