Hoda Kotb says goodbye with an emotional “love letter”.

On Jan. 10, her final day at TODAY, Hoda thanked her fans and looked back on her career at NBC News in a letter she also described as a “thank you.”

“To our viewers, who have been my extended TV family here on the fourth hour of TODAY for 16 years, this is a letter for you,” she said on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, which will be called TODAY with Jenna & Jenna. Friends after Hoda’s departure.

“This is not a farewell letter. This is a love letter, a love letter to you. Actually, it is also a kind of thank you letter. How do I say this? “How do I say thank you for more hugs and more love than one person deserves?” she said.

Hoda then recalled co-hosting the fourth hour of TODAY with Kathie Lee Gifford from 2008 to 2019.

“Sixteen years ago I sat next to Kathie Lee and she changed my life,” Hoda said. “She chose me. And to be honest, I was scared. I had never done anything like this before. I was a hardened person, a ‘Dateline’ person, and then one day she called me ‘Hoda Woman.'” I tore off the news corset. We poured ourselves a glass of wine and that’s how it began.

“It went from ‘Hoda Woman’ to ‘Hoda Mama’ when Haley was born, I held Haley and you held me. You supported me, the cards, the comments, the letters, I read them all, and then Hopey came too,” she added of her two children Haley (8) and Hope (5).

Hoda recalled her “new era” with Jenna Bush Hager, saying they had “six unforgettable years” together of “uncontrollable laughter and pure friendship.”

“I can barely say her name without laughing out loud. But that’s not the part I fell in love with. I fell in love with her tears, her vulnerable, loving self and, as I tell her in my cards, with you.” “All belong to me and we all belong to each other,” she said.

Hoda ended her letter with a reminder of her 60th birthday celebrations. When she announced her TODAY exit in September, Hoda said her 60th birthday was a pivotal moment in her life because she knew it was time to “try something new.”

“When I turned 60, you threw me a huge party. I reached the mountain peak that day so high that I knew at that moment there was no greater peak,” she wrote in her letter. “And along the way, you invited me into your life, your triumphs, your special moments and your celebrations. Having a front row seat to all of this has really helped make me who I am. Thank you for letting me be part of your journey.

“I have become who I am in this hour of this show and you are by my side every step of the way. As I sit here today in my final moments, on this final day in this chapter of my career, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for the ride of my life.

At the start of the episode, Jenna read a letter she prepared for Hoda as part of her co-host’s final day on TODAY. In the letter, Jenna thanked Hoda for everything she had learned from her.

“You taught me to really look into the eyes and hearts of our guests and listen how to really listen!” she said. “And now, my love, teach us the most important lesson of all: how to say goodbye with grace.”

“Thank you, Hoda, for everything you taught me, everything you gave me: all the hugs, all the heart, all the laughter, all the love. I’ll miss you, my friend, but I love you and me.” “I’m so proud,” Jenna concluded. “Love always and forever, Jenna.”

In September, Hoda announced she was leaving TODAY after spending 26 years at NBC News. Hoda explained that it was time for her to spend more time with her daughters.

“Obviously I had my kids late in life, and I thought they deserved a bigger piece of the time that I have,” she said. “I feel like we only have a limited amount of time.”

Craig Melvin will replace Hoda as co-anchor of TODAY alongside Savannah Guthrie starting January 13.