‘My daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie’
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Hoda Kotb has quit ‘Today.’
The 60-year-old broadcaster — who has Haley, seven, and four-year-old Hope with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman — has been an anchor on the show for 17 years but she has made the “painful” decision to leave her role next year to spend more time with her family.
In a letter to staff on the NBC show shared on Thursday, Hoda wrote: “As I write this, my heart is all over the map.
“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.
“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. I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited.”
However, the presenter won’t be leaving NBC entirely when she does exit ‘Today’ and feels “lucky” to be staying with the network.
She wrote: “Happily and gratefully, I plan to remain a part of the NBC family, the longest work relationship I’ve been lucky enough to hold close to my heart.
“I’ll be around. How could I not? Family is family and you all will always be a part of mine.”
‘Today’ is filmed in Manhattan but Hoda and her daughters recently moved out to the suburbs, where her daughters can enjoy having more space and their own bedrooms.
She previously explained on the show: “They’re so excited to have their own space.
“They’re excited about a reading chair, they’re excited about having a beanbag chair, and their bed — that kind of stuff.
“It’s all new — new kids, new school, new things, new everything.
“It’s funny because all I could think of was I want my house for the kids to feel warm and cozy and a place where they want to hang. And that’s it.”