Hoda Kotb shares her 'guilt' in balancing career and family before saying goodbye to NBC's 'Today'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Hoda Kotb has opened up on her role at the helm of the 'Today' show and the guilt she experienced while juggling her demanding career with raising her two daughters.

The 60-year-old anchor revealed that this struggle ultimately led her to implement the decision she had long thought about of leaving the show to have more family time. 

Hoda Kotb shares struggle of balancing work and family

The mother-of-two explained to People that turning 60 made her reflect on how she wanted to spend her future.

Kotb, a mother to Haley Joy, seven, and Hope Catherine, four, narrated the emotional toll of balancing work and family life.

“There’s this guilt you carry because you can’t be 100% at work and 100% at home. Something has to give if you want excellence,” she said.

Kotb, who adopted both of her daughters, explained that her desire to spend more time with them was a major factor in her decision.

"If you want to be excellent at home... something has to give at work. It can't be equal." Kotb expressed.

Hota Kotb reflects on turning 60 and her desire to be 'different'

Hoda Kotb reflected on turning 60 and how she wanted to structure her time moving forward.

"I knew I wanted this decade to be different," she explained, comparing her available time to a pie that she needed to divide.

"I was like, this is how much time I get, and now what am I going to do with it and how am I going to carve it up?" she said.

One of Kotb's anticipated changes includes no longer waking up at 3.30 am for work, even on the weekends. "I'm not going to be playing beat the clock all the time anymore," Kotb shared.

It is that she wants more of that time to be spent with her daughters, she said, adding "...Mommy is going to be able to take you to school now.'”

Kotb agonized over what her professional demanded and she had a "yearning" and feeling something was pulling her.

She didn't shove it down to be on the safer side saying, “...It does make more sense to stay at NBC. I'm financially secure and I would have job security."

"I mean, why would you ever not do that? But I've been watching my kids and I was thinking to myself, I wonder what I'm missing?” Kotb said.

Hoda Kotb reveals her daughter Hope who has an unknown medical condition is thriving'

Hoda Kotb announced her decision to leave 'Today' on September 26, 2023, marking the end of her 17-year run as co-host and 25 years at NBC.

She revealed that this decision came after realizing she wanted new adventures in life. "I like new beginnings. I'm a sunrise person and not a sunset person," she reflected.

She previously shared on 'The Jimmy Kimmel Live' that when she turned 60, "We had this beautiful party at the Today show and I looked out at the sea of all the people who came and beautiful signs and so many well wishes and I knew in my heart like, this is it, man."

"This is what the mountaintop must feel like. Like I’d never had that feeling before," she said. The anchor and her daughters moved from Manhattan to a home in Westchester where they now have a yard and a swing set.

Kotb, who in 2023 shared that her youngest daughter Hope had a medical crisis, further influenced her decision.

"We're in a place where Hope is thriving. She is improving," she said, adding "We have really excellent care, I have people who are helping us out. I feel like she is finding steady footing."