Kathie Lee Gifford Praises ‘Amazing’ Hoda Kotb After ‘Today’ Announces End: ‘Here’s to New Adventures!’

On September 26, Kotb announced that she was stepping down from her duties as co-host of the long-running morning show

Kathie Lee Gifford praised Hoda Kotb after she announced her departure Today.

Following the announcement, the 71-year-old TV personality shared a sweet message about her friend and former co-host.

“Bittersweet news, my dear friend @hodakotb is leaving the Today Show,” she wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) along with two photos of the pair hosting the fourth hour of the show Today.

Related: Hoda Kotb recalls how Kathie Lee Gifford ‘dazzled’ the crowd with her ‘tits out’ – before landing Today Concert (exclusive)

“Her warmth, laughter and incredible spirit brightened our mornings and touched countless hearts,” she continued. “Here’s to new adventures!”

The pair hosted the fourth hour Today from 2008 to 2018. Kotb, 60, said in an episode of Busy Philipps Busy this week in July that working with Gifford for 11 years had finally given her a sense of career direction.

“I always felt like I was putting a circle inside a square,” she said. “I felt it. It just wasn’t right, and when I first sat down with Kat, I felt like I was riding a wave. I was like, “Oh my God, this is what you feel like when you do something you’re supposed to do.” “

Tyler Essary/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

From left: Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford on “Today” on Tuesday, April 2, 2019. /https://media.zenfs.com/en/people_218/ade709b2bda76e952cbbeb6d4546195a”/>Tyler Essary/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

From left: Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford on “Today” on Tuesday, April 2, 2019. /https://media.zenfs.com/en/people_218/ade709b2bda76e952cbbeb6d4546195a” class=”caas-img”/>

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Related: Kathie Lee Gifford Reunites With Hoda Kotb Today and Drops Funny Regis Philbin impression – watch it!

On September 26, Kotb wrote a letter to her employees detailing the reasons behind her decision to leave the NBC morning show before it was announced on the air.

“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” she wrote. “I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s painful. And you are all the reason for this. They say two things can be good at the same time, and I feel it deeply now. I love you AND it was time for me to leave the show.”

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“My television career has been incredibly significant, I have a new decade of my life ahead of me, and now my daughters and mother need and deserve a bigger chunk of my time,” she continued. “I will miss you all desperately, but I will be ready and excited.”

Kotb is scheduled to end his duties in early 2025, but will still “remain in the NBC family.”

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