Hoda left TODAY with Hoda & Jenna with her kids and excitement about what’s ahead for them.
Hoda has officially rode off into the sunset!
The TODAY with Hoda & Jenna co-host ended her final episode with a message of gratitude and an eye toward the future.
In the final minutes of the program, she and Jenna Bush Hager stood onstage with the entire show staff.
“This is our longtime staff, our incredible crew, our producers. They all came. They’re all here. This is the crew that when you walk in the room, they say ‘Good morning,’ lift you up,” she said.
She also gave a special shoutout to the show’s executive producer, Talia Parkinson-Jones, whom she called “the best hire that NBC made.”
Hoda, surrounded by daughters Haley, 8, and Hope, 5, also reminded viewers to tune into TODAY with Jenna & Friends starting Jan. 13.
Before the show officially ended, though, Hoda appeared behind the wheel of a car with her kids in the backseat.
“Alright, guys, are you ready for the next adventure?” she said as they cheered and she honked the horn.
Hoda then drove off, while viewers got a look at the back of her car.
“Just repotted” read a banner, while cans hung off the bumper, much like those “Just married” signs hang off of cars for newlyweds.
If you recall, “repotting” was the word Hoda used to help explain her decision to leave TODAY.
“I love the term ‘repotting.’ It’s like you’re pulled up by your very roots, your foundation, everything that grounds you, and your roots are in the air and you’re scared. ‘Where am I going to land?’” she said on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna in October, while noting she took the term from Maria Shriver.
Hoda’s words on her final show put an exclamation point on the “Hoda-bration,” which celebrated all things Hoda.
Earlier on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, her mother appeared in a video tribute, while Gayle King stopped by, as did “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon and her former TODAY with Kathie Lee and Hoda co-host, Kathie Lee Gifford. Jenna also read an emotional letter to Hoda, while Hoda also read an emotional goodbye letter, which she called a “thank you note.”
She also read a farewell letter and was treated to a performance by singer Walker Hayes.
Earlier on TODAY, the show ran a look back at her legacy, while Olympic gymnastics legend Simone Biles also stopped by and “Dateline’s” Keith Morrison shared his memories of meeting Hoda, while Maria Shriver saluted her, as did Oprah Winfrey and Jamie Lee Curtis. Hoda’s daughters also joined their mother when she was serenaded by Kermit the Frog, who sang “The Rainbow Connection.”
At the end of the 8 a.m. ET hour, Hoda made sure to express her gratitude to all the fans who turned out in her honor.
“Can I say thank you to every person who came out here?” she said.
“I read your cards. I got your bracelets. I got the scarves you crocheted. I read the texts. I got everything, so I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you for coming out, for being here and for everything you did. I love you.”
Hoda announced last September she would be leaving TODAY following a 26-year career at NBC News.
While announcing her plan to exit TODAY, she said it was prompted by her desire to spend more time with Haley and Hope and it came more into focus when she turned 60 last year.
“I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new,” she said.
“Obviously I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have,” she added. “I feel like we only have a finite amount of time.
