‘Today’: Hoda Kotb Gets Candid About Jenna Bush Hager & Sheinelle Jones Hosting 4th Hour

Hoda Kotb is reflecting on her time on the Today show a year after stepping down from the long-running NBC News morning television show.

After 17 years on the sofa, Kotb officially retired from Today in January 2025 to spend more time with her family. She’d served as the main co-anchor alongside Savannah Guthrie since 2018 and as the co-host of the entertainment-focused fourth hour alongside Jenna Bush Hager since 2007.

Speaking to People in a recent interview, Kotb said she is “honored to have been one of the stewards” of the fourth-hour, which is now helmed by Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones.

“I think what is so touching to me is I watched Jenna as kind of a baby learn the ropes, and now, as a proud mom, I’m watching her, number one, carry [the show] for an entire year. I watched her, and I was so proud,” she shared.

NBC

Following Kotb’s exit, Craig Melvin was named as her replacement to host the main Today show opposite Guthrie. Meanwhile, Bush Hager welcomed a series of guest hosts for the fourth hour throughout 2025, including Taraji P. Henson, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Longoria, Amy Poehler, and many more.

Last month, Today co-host Sheinelle Jones was announced as Bush Hager’s new permanent co-anchor. The pair debuted Today with Jenna and Sheinelle last Monday, January 12. Jones had previously taken a family medical leave from NBC News after her husband was diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma—he died in May 2025.

Kotb told People how “satisfying” it is to watch Bush Hager and Jones continue the fourth hour.

Related

'Today': Sarah Jessica Parker Gushes Over Jenna & Sheinelle's Partnership

“And now, to watch Jenna and Sheinelle have a place where magic is reigniting again, to me, is one of the most satisfying feelings,” she said.

Kotb made a surprise appearance on the debut episode of Today with Jenna & Sheinelle last week, alongside fellow former fourth-hour co-host Kathie Lee Gifford.

“All you want is for the show to continue to be wildly successful. And by the way, I have not a shadow of a doubt that it is going to be wildly successful, so I feel proud,” Kotb continued. “I feel like a proud mom going, ‘Look at my girls. Look at them. They’re doing it.’ It’s like, you know when you watch your kid ride a bike? You’re like, ‘Oh my God, they can do it all on their own.'”

Kotb noted that she was “proud” to see how Bush Hager handled an entire year of ever-changing co-hosts, adding, “And now, to have a gentle place with such a pro like Sheinelle is going to be next level.”