Hoda Kotb reveals daughter's health condition was a factor in decision to leave 'Today'

USA Today

3 days ago

Hoda Kotb reveals daughter's health condition was a factor in decision to leave 'Today'
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Watch Hoda Kotb's 'Today' announcement, Jenna Bush Hager's response
Hoda Kotb revealed that she's leaving the "Today" show in early 2025. Later in the morning, Jenna Bush Hager reacted on set.
Hoda Kotb is opening up about her daughter's health struggles, which she has revealed contributed to her decision to exit the "Today" show.
Kotb on May 28 returned to her old stomping grounds to be a guest on "Today" and to co-host the program's fourth hour with Jenna Bush Hager. During a conversation with Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin, she discussed the fact that her 6-year-old daughter Hope has Type 1 diabetes.
"You just get a priority check in your life," she said. "I can be here and sweating what's happening to Hope in the morning and in the night, or I can be there and feel relief that I can see (her)."
Guthrie said this was a "burden" for Kotb to carry while she was working on "Today," as "so many nights, Hoda would be up all night with Hope and then come in here with that smile on her face, and she hadn't slept a wink."
Speaking to TODAY.com, Kotb confirmed her daughter's health "definitely weighed in" to her decision to leave the "Today" show, though she said spending more time with her kids was the primary reason. Kotb told People magazine that Hope receives "constant care" and at one time was getting four or five shots a day.
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"I really wanted to and needed to be here to watch over her," Kotb told People. "So, whenever she needs anything, and it can happen at night, multiple times, I'm up — I'm up up up. But I would never, ever want Hope to one day grow up and say, 'Oh, my mom left her job because (of me).' It wasn't that alone. But if you look at it cumulatively, it was a part of that decision."
According to the Mayo Clinic, Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas makes little or no insulin, and treatment is "directed toward managing the amount of sugar in the blood using insulin, diet and lifestyle to prevent complications."
While co-hosting "Today with Jenna and Friends," Kotb shared that she started to feel that she was "too out of reach" to help Hope if her daughter needed her.
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"That was one of many, many reasons I decided it was time for me to do something different," Kotb said. "There's something about knowing that you can mother your kid from right there. I don't worry now because I see her. I'm not thinking about it here."
Kotb announced her exit from the "Today" show in September and officially signed off in January. Hager has since been hosting the show's fourth hour with a series of guest hosts, and on May 28, Kotb told Hager that she has been "literally crushing it."
"I've been watching you every single day," Kotb said. "You've been incredible, so I hope you're proud of yourself."
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While speaking with Guthrie and Melvin, Kotb said she had a "weird rush of emotions" returning to the "Today" show, noting, "It's such a weird sensation to know that something can be incredibly painful to leave behind, and also be the right thing."
Kotb also denied claims that will take over for Kelly Clarkson on the singer's talk show, insisting, "If I ever came back to TV, do you know where the only place I would ever come back to is? Right here."