Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Craig Melvin and Carson Daly say goodbye Today Show star Hoda Kotb after 17 years on the show.

On Friday, January 10, Guthrie and the rest Today The family paid an emotional tribute to Kotb as they celebrated her final day on the NBC news show.

“When we thought about how best to celebrate you, Hoda, and what you meant to all of us, it was really just one word – love,” Guthrie told Kotb to begin the tribute. “You are love. And we love you. You’re all about you. We are so inspired by you every day.”

And even though she wanted to celebrate her friend, Guthrie quipped, “If I don’t do this interview, does that mean she’s not going?”

Guthrie, 53, called Kotb, 60, “like a sister to me” and gushed, “She’s so special it’s hard to describe her.”

The Today Co-hosts value the pre-show time getting ready in the hair and makeup chair, with Guthrie expressing, “We value that pre-show time where we’re just talking and sometimes it was really emotional and the poor makeup artist had to start all over again.”

Guthrie called Kotb “the ultimate people person,” adding, “Hoda, I love you. Whether you are together in the morning or not, I will always be by your side and you will always be by my side.

Melvin, who will take on Kotb’s co-host role, raved about her ability to connect with everyone she speaks to.

“Hoda doesn’t do interviews, she does conversations,” Melvin said. “She doesn’t look you in the eyes, she looks into your soul.”

Weatherman Roker became emotional as he reflected on the time Kotb helped him through a health battle in 2022.

“I was seriously ill. I never had any idea how sick I was,” Roker said. “I was in the hospital and I think Hoda was there, if not every day, almost every day… I think people thought she was a doctor.”

Speaking about the mother of two, he added: “I’m going to miss you coming out of that dressing room every morning, but you know what? You, Hope and Haley get to come out of your rooms every morning and see us and stuff.” How could I be sad?

Kotb burst into tears at her colleagues’ honors and jokingly declared, “It wasn’t fair. Can I just say thank you? I couldn’t articulate it because I’m a mess most of the time.” I just want to say thank you.

She jokingly said to Melvin, “Craig, I’m so happy for you. You deserve this. This is yours. And on Monday at seven o’clock I will be sound asleep, but you will be fantastic.”

But for Guthrie, her most emotional reaction was when she wiped tears from her eyes.

“You are my person, my person,” Kotb told Guthrie. “You know who’s there for everyone? This girl. When your brother died, that girl. When I was going through it with Hope, it was this girl. She is in the room. She is always in the room. And I love you.”

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The tribute comes after Guthrie and Kotb shared a lovely moment at the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center in December, nearly three months after Kotb announced her decision to leave Today show after 17 years.

In a cute video shared by Today On the show on Instagram, the two stood arm in arm watching the snowflakes fall, and Kotb lovingly looked at her longtime co-host, who leaned her head on Kotb’s shoulder, and they shared a moment together.

In October, Guthrie opened up to PEOPLE about her reaction when she learned Kotb would be leaving the morning show.

“Well, I would say I was shocked but not surprised because she and I have had many, many conversations about life and what it means to our hopes and dreams and I knew that 60 was a big moment and where she thinks “It’s a lot about how she wants to spend the rest of her day,” Guthrie said at the time. “So I wasn’t surprised.”

She continued: “But then when it happened, of course I was happy for her because I think it’s so bold and courageous and amazing and this confidence in herself and her bright future that she writes and she writes it.”

Guthrie added that she was proud of her friend for taking the leap of faith, saying, “It’s not like she knows, ‘Oh, I’m going to this job.’ I go. She doesn’t know, but she knows something. “She can do it and I love that and it inspires me.”

She concluded: “And of course I’m sad too because I love her so much and if it were up to me we would be together forever.”

In September, Kotb announced she was leaving Today show after almost two decades. Craig Melvin is set to step in as her successor from Monday, January 13th.

Kotb praised Melvin, 45, after the news was announced, telling him on air: “You’re made for this job.”

“You are literally made for this job. “You’re so good,” she continued. “You have everything this job needs. You are the right person for it.”

The Today The show airs weekdays at 7 a.m. ET on NBC.