Hoda Kotb teases next chapter, plans to launch wellness company after 'Today' exit
Fans of Hoda Kotb won't have to miss her for too long.
The "Today" show co-anchor, who announced in September she would step down from her post after nearly two decades at the show and six years as lead co-anchor, teased her new chapter on a recent visit to "The Kelly Clarkson Show." Kotb, whose last day is Friday, stopped by her NBC sister program Monday to say one more goodbye and spill on what comes next.
"I am starting a wellness app and company that will involve retreats and a podcast," she told Clarkson. "This is something that when you leave you'll feel like, 'Oh my gosh, I feel transformed. I feel different.'"
Hoda Kotb on wellness and the 'whispers' that led to 'Today' exit: 'Have you done it all?'
The idea started a few years ago, she said, when she "started "got hooked" on the wellness space, trying out treatments that she thought at first seemed a little "woo-woo," but then noticed she was actually feeling better.
"We're in the building process," Kotb said, but revealed she expects the new project to launch in the spring.
Kotb's pivot doesn't come as a total surprise for loyal watchers though. In October, the anchor took "Today" and 150 attendees along for a wellness retreat at Miraval Austin Resort and Spa in Houston.
USA TODAY's Erin Jensen came along and spoke with Kotb about why this felt like the logical next step.
“I'm like, ‘I know I'll eat salmon and go for another run and then I'll feel better,’” she told USA TODAY of health in her 50s. “And I did, for a day. And then I realized there has to be something more that nourishes you, short of veggies and sweating on a Peloton bike. You have to have more.
“I've been given way more than I deserve, way more," she said. "So now it's like this is the season of giving, of helping, of mentoring, of showing and hopefully it could make someone else's life easier.”
I went to the 'Today' show and Hoda Kotb's wellness weekend. It changed me.
It's still a bittersweet ending though.
"I'm terrible with goodbyes," Kotb told Clarkson, "I like change, like you, but the goodbye part's hard for me."
While she's eager to spend more time with her daughters, Kotb told Clarkson she'll miss the friendships she shares with colleagues Al Roker, Jenna Bush Hager and Savannah Guthrie.
"When you're madly in love with something but you also know that it's time for something new, that's where it gets hard," she said.
Kotb will be replaced by Craig Melvin, who currently hosts "Today Third Hour." Melvin shared his favorite moment with Kotb, in a video message played by Clarkson.
"My favorite Hoda memories are Hoda at the Olympics because, outside the athletes themselves and the parents of those athletes, no one is more excited about Team USA than Hoda Kotb," Melvin said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hoda Kotb teases next chapter after 'Today' show exit
