From Our Editor in Chief: Inside Our (Sixth!) Cover Shoot with Hoda Kotb
Editor in Chief Charlotte Triggs takes readers inside PEOPLE's cover shoot with Hoda Kotb
In the cover story, Kotb shares the truth about why she stepped away from the Today show
It marks the sixth time Kotb's graced the cover of PEOPLE magazineI've been covering Hoda Kotb for the past 14 years, ever since the fourth hour of the Today show was first taking off. She and Kathie Lee Gifford were hitting their stride, drinking wine in the morning and sharing an incredible chemistry on-air. Since then, I've done six cover stories with her and countless more interviews.
When we photographed her with her new baby Haley in 2017, I was expecting my twins — we both sat on the guest bed of her Upper West Side apartment for that interview, because a giant stuffed gorilla gifted by Andy Cohen was taking up a large portion of the seating area.
When Hoda replaced Matt Lauer as Today coanchor in 2018, she was on the cover alongside Savannah Guthrie. She was on there again when she adopted baby Hope in 2019 and graced the cover of our Family issue with both girls in 2022.
Then last fall she appeared on the cover to share some shocking news: She was leaving Today.
Our readers love Hoda — who doesn't? — and so when we got the opportunity to shoot her with her daughters again, we took it. Driving to her house, I hadn't prepared questions: I figured after 14 years of interviews, we'd just talk. What have you been up to lately? How are your kids? But this turned out to be our most intimate interview yet.
Hoda shared that she does in fact miss Today, that (just like me, and plenty of other moms) she can lose her cool sometimes — and that there was more to the story when she decided to leave Today: Hope, 6, has been dealing with the rigorous ongoing care required after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I'm so grateful to Hoda for the trust she placed in PEOPLE by sharing this, and I think readers will be inspired by her positive outlook and doting attention to her girls.
You can take an inside look at the making of the cover story (including behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot and interview) on People's new short-form reality show The Fourth Wall, which airs exclusively on the People app.
Thanks for reading, clicking and watching.
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