Hoda Kotb’s voice broke as she began her final ever episode co-anchoring the Today show.
As the show began, her co-star Savannah Grieve admitted that she was already ‘tearing up’ and the pair held each other’s hand for comfort.
Kicking off Friday’s program, Savannah, 53, began: ‘Hi, everybody. Good morning and welcome to Today.
Happy Friday morning! I’m feeling emotional as our floor director announces, “one last time; five, four, three, two, one and here we go.”
Holding onto Savannah’s hand, Hoda said: ‘One last time. Let’s do this. Let’s do this.’
‘We’re going to celebrate you today,’ Savannah pointed out.
Hoda Kotb choked up as she began her final ever episode co-anchoring the Today show
The anchor, 60, held onto Savannah Guthrie’s hand as they began their last news update
Hoda then took a moment to thank the crowds gathered outside Studio 1A at Rockefeller Plaza.
‘And I do want to say thank you because people came out super early in the crowd this morning,’ she said.
Before the episode started, Hoda shared a sweet post-it note message from her production assistants.
The note read: ‘Hoda! We’ll miss prepping your packets. Thank you for everything! Enjoy retirement.’
Alongside the photo, which she posted on Instagram, Hoda commented: ‘I’ll miss u too xo.’
Hoda announced that she was stepping down from the Today show in September, citing that turning 60 had shifted her priorities in life.
‘I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new,’ she said on the program.
Recalling a moment outside, I saw a lovely group of people holding beautiful signs, and it struck me that this was the peak experience for me.
Hoda announced she was stepping down from the Today show in September after nearly three decades at the network
Ahead of her last episode airing, she shared a sweet message from the Today show’s production assistants
‘And I thought it can’t get better, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on.’
Hoda added that her two young daughters, Haley, eight, and Hope, five, also played a major part in her decision.
‘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,’ she said.
‘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.’
In November, it was confirmed that Craig, who has been with NBC News for nearly 14 years, would be taking over from Hoda.
