Hoda Kotb Admits It’s ‘Terrifying’ Leaving Today Show but Says ‘It’s Also Exactly Right’

Hoda Kotb is content with her decision to leave the Today show.

During the Friday, Oct. 25 episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, Kotb, 60, shared that, while the thought of her leaving Today is “terrifying,” she feels exiting the show in the months to come is “exactly right.”

“When those twinges come up, like, ‘Should you do it? Is it a mistake?’ … I remind myself that there’s still part of me that’s living right here,” she said. “And that’s normal. Like, let it be. So yeah, it’s scary. Yeah, it’s terrifying — it’s all those things … but it’s also exactly right.”

Kotb also said that she sought advice on her decision to leave Today after working at NBC for 26 years from her close friends, including Maria Schriver, who appeared as a guest on the episode of the show. 

“I feel like it’s more than, ‘Oh I got tired of waking up at 3 a.m.,’ because quite frankly I got used to it … that’s not my complaint. It wasn’t the work, it was the idea that somewhere there was supposed to be a new adventure for me,” Kotb said.

“Whenever I made a leap, a move, a jump, it was like I’m falling in love. That’s what I said to myself when I moved to this town,” she continued. “… When you love something, like I love NBC, my work, it is hard to say goodbye to it because it doesn’t make sense.”

Kotb further explained that she came to the decision to leave Today after “recognizing a peak” she had reached in her career on the show. 

“I do not feel that there is an opportunity that would make this get any better than it is today, and I think once that feeling hits you, you’re like, ‘This is it,’ ” she said. “It was glorious, it was unforgettable, it was a once in a lifetime. And it’s not sad, it’s beautiful.”

Kotb announced that she would be departing the Today show on Sept. 26, closing out her longtime role of cohosting. In her letter to staffers, she also confirmed she’ll “be working through the beginning of 2025.”

Speaking to PEOPLE earlier this month, Kotb shared how her desire to spend more time with her daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, also spurred her decision to leave the show.

“I’ve kind of been contemplating, wondering, thinking about what I wanted this next chunk of my life to look like as I turned 60. And I like adventure, I like new beginnings … I was wondering, what does it look like for me?” Kotb said.

“I’ve had yearnings, and you know when something’s pulling you? It’s like you either go toward it or you shove it down and say, ‘Nope, this is the way. I’m going to stay here because it’s safe,’ ” she continued. “It does make more sense to stay at NBC. I’m financially secure and I would have job security … But I’ve been watching my kids and I was thinking to myself, I wonder what I’m missing?”