Hoda Kotb recalls Jenna Bush Hager's 'weird speech' after today's exit

Hoda Kotb I'll always remember what Jenna Bush Hager told her after she announced her exit Today.

“Here's how she starts our staff meeting: 'One time Hoda left a party with my purse,'” Kotb, 60, recalled during the episode of ” Today. “I asked myself, ‘What is Jenna doing? My God, what a strange speech.'”

Kotb explained that there were 300 employees and Bush Hager, 42, “talked about an old party.”

“She says, ‘Do you know what she did? She left the party early.' And Jenna says, “And she's doing it again!” She says, “She's leaving before the shots are fired.” “She's leaving before the party starts, before the music starts,” Kotb said. “And you made me laugh.”

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Bush Hager pointed out that Kotb has been nicknamed “Houdini” over the years because of her tendency to slip away from meetings unnoticed.

“Hoda has a special name called Houdini,” Bush Hager explained. “You go to a party, everyone is talking and suddenly she's outside! And I'm like, 'Wait – did you leave?' Because you have my purse.'”

Kotb tearfully announced last month that she was parting ways with the morning show after being with and joining NBC for over three decades Today in 2007. (She became a presenter on the side Savannah Guthrie in 2018.)

“At 60, I realized it was time for me to turn the page and try something new. “This is the right time for me to move on,” Kotb said at the time, noting that her daughters were the motivation behind her decision.

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Nathan Congleton/NBC Hoda Kotb's nearly 20 years on the Today show have been full of unforgettable moments. The TV personality announced in September 2024 that she would be leaving the iconic morning show after 26 years at NBC, 16 years as a Today co-host and seven years as Savannah Guthrie's co-host. “I just turned around (…)

During the episode, Bush Hager became emotional as he remembered Kotb telling her the news a few days earlier.

“My first reaction came from my gut and was almost crazy. … I said, 'No, you can't go,'” Bush Hager said at the time. “I come to you when I am happy, when I am unsure. You are the one I come to and you believed in me first. We have a lot of bosses and I love them, but this lady on October 28, 2013 – I looked it up – said, 'Hey, do you want to sit next to me?' There's room.'”

Following Kotb's announcement, an NBC insider reported exclusively Us weekly that some were not surprised by her departure. “It’s such a hard work on your life,” the source said. “I think the average person understands that morning television is not glamorous.”

Puck later released a report suggesting that Kotb's departure may have been due to financial factors, citing a source with direct knowledge of her salary who said Kotb earned over $20 million in her position – However, NBC proposed a pay cut. An insider close to Kotb told us Us that “salary played no role in Hoda’s decision.”