Hoda Kotb’s voice broke as she began her last-ever episode co-anchoring the Today show.
As the show started, her co-star Savannah Grieve admitted she was already “bursting into tears” and the pair held hands for comfort.
Kicking off Friday’s program, Savannah, 53, began: “Hello everyone. Good morning and welcome to Today.
“It’s wonderful to have you with us on this Friday morning and I’m crying. Our floor director just said, “one last time; five, four, three, two, one and here we go.”
Hoda held Savannah’s hand and said, “One last time. Let’s do this. Let’s do this.’
“We’re going to celebrate you today,” Savannah noted.
Hoda Kotb choked up as she began her last ever episode co-anchoring the Today show
The anchor, 60, held Savannah Guthrie’s hand as they began their latest news update
Hoda then took a moment to thank the crowd gathered outside Studio 1A on Rockefeller Plaza.
“And I want to thank you because people came out in the crowds very early this morning,” she said.
Before the episode started, Hoda shared a sweet post-it message from her production assistants.
The note read: ‘Hoda! We will miss preparing your packages. Thanks for everything! Enjoy your retirement.’
Alongside the photo, which she posted to Instagram, Hoda said: “I’ll miss you too xo.”
She also posted an image of Winnie the Pooh’s famous quote, “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard,” next to a cartoon of Winnie and Piglet.
Commenting on the upload, Hoda’s colleague admitted: “I’m already crying over the poop cartoon!”
Hoda announced that she was stepping down from the Today show in September, citing that turning 60 had changed her priorities in life.
Before the airing of her final episode, Hoda shared a sweet message from the Today show’s production assistants
She also posted this famous quote from Winnie the Pooh, which left Jenna Bush Hager “crying.”
Hoda announced in September that she would be quitting the Today show after nearly three decades with the network
“I realized it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and try something new,” she said on the programme.
“I remembered standing outside looking at this beautiful group of people with these beautiful signs, and I thought, ‘This is what the crest of the wave feels like to me.’
“And I thought it couldn’t get any better, and I decided this was the right time for me to move on.”
Hoda added that her two young daughters, Haley, eight, and Hope, five, also played a major role in her decision.
“Obviously I had my kids later in life, and I thought they deserved a bigger share of my time than I did,” she said.
“I feel like we only have a limited amount of time.
“And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”
In November, it was confirmed that Craig, who has been with NBC News for nearly fourteen years, would take over from Hoda.