Hoda Kotb Reveals the Real Reason Behind Her ‘Today’ Show Exit: “Something Has to Give If You Want Excellence”
She continued, “There’s the guilt you carry because you can’t be 100% at work and 100% at home. Something has to give if you want excellence. If you’re going to be excellent at work, something has to give at home. And if you want to be excellent at home, I mean excellent, and do all the things, something has to give at work. It can’t be equal.”
Kotb has two daughters, a 7-year-old and a 5-year-old. In 2023, Kotb took some time off the show to be with her youngest daughter in the ICU, which moved the TV host to continue to prioritize her family.
“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 said. “It does make more sense to stay at NBC. I’m financially secure and I would have job security. I mean, why would you ever not do that? But I’ve been watching my kids and I was thinking to myself, ‘I wonder what I’m missing?’”
Kotb also notes that not having to go to sleep early to wake up early the next day will allow her to have a social life, adding, “I thought, you know what? I’m not going to be playing ‘beat the clock’ all the time anymore.”
