Hoda’s colleagues shared a series of touching messages looking back on their relationship with her over the years, a tribute that moved Hoda to tears. “That wasn’t fair,” Hoda said after seeing the video.

She thanked them all individually. She called Carson the show’s “secret sauce.” Savannah is her “person.” Al, her “first boyfriend” at TODAY. And Craig, her successor, someone who “deserves this.”

“You’re going to be amazing. You’re going to bring it home,” Hoda told Craig. And she said she was sleeping when he saw his first show on January 13th.

Here’s what her co-hosts said about her.

savannah

Savannah said the presenters’ messages came together in one word: Love.

She recalled how their emotional conversations while doing makeup sometimes resulted in the artists having to do it again!

“She’s so special it’s hard to describe,” Savannah said. Her challenges, she said, made her stronger. And she pointed out how Hoda uses a plastic bag as a wallet for red carpet affairs: “She’s all about what matters.”

Savannah guessed what made her interviews so special. “She reaches across with her eyes and her heart. People see someone who cares about them. She loves people. She’s the ultimate people person,” Savannah said.

“Hoda, I love you very much. Whether you sit next to me or not. Whether we wake up together at 4 a.m. or not, I will always be by your side, and you will always be by my side,” she said.

Craig

Craig said when she thinks of Hoda, he thinks of fans holding signs and the “connection she has with them.”

“Hoda doesn’t do interviews. She has conversations,” Craig said. “She doesn’t look into your eyes. She looks into your soul.”

He acknowledged her “kindness and generosity” after he was announced as Savannah’s co-host. “Thank you for being a cheerleader and a champion for years,” he said.

Hoda agreed to give him a pep talk as he began his new role as co-host — and he said she should expect a call from him.

Al

Al said goodbye to his “neighbor” – at least as far as the locker rooms were concerned.

“I’m going to miss you coming out of the locker room every morning,” he said. “But you know what? You, Hope and Haley are allowed to come out of your rooms and see each other every morning. So how can I be sad?”

Al also described her character, calling her “selfless.” He praised her kindness when he was sick. “It meant the world,” he said.

Carson

“When Hoda comes to work, she sings,” Carson said. And also dance – with a “Star Watt smile”.

Celebrities like being interviewed by Hoda because “they feel like they’re talking to a friend,” he said.

“I really value our friendship and always will.” Carson reached for the Coldplay song “All My Love” to describe his feelings, saying, “She has all our love and always will.”