It’s the end of an era for The Today Show as the news program prepares to see the exit of one of its longtime co-hosts, Kathie Lee Gifford.
The 65-year-old’s friendly face sipping on a glass of Chardonnay in the morning is sure to be missed by many, but nobody will feel her absence more than Hoda Kotb, who has been sitting right beside her with her own glass of wine during the show’s fourth-hour segment for over a decade.
“Her absence will be felt throughout NBC in a way that is very profound, and she’s left a mark that will be there forever,” the children’s book author explained to Entertainment Tonight about her friend’s departure from the popular morning show.
“Some people come and go…but people will never forget Kathie Lee.”
Kathie Lee tearfully announced in December of last year that she would be leaving the popular morning show just shy of her 11-year anniversary with the program. The news came as a shock to many fans of the wine-sipping pair, but the show must go on, and come Gifford’s last day, which The Inquisitr previously reported will be on April 5, a new smiling face will appear next to Hoda’s during the show’s infamous 10 a.m. block — Jenna Bush Hager.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuWcJTLnygw/
“I’m so excited, not for just me but for everybody, to learn more and more about her,” Hoda said of her new co-host, whom she also described as “full of depth and wisdom and humor.”
Jenna has made a few stints on the program before, filling in for both ladies in the event of their absences, but now she is preparing to permanently take on the role. Hoda related the change to suddenly starting to date someone new after amicably ending a long-term relationship, and though there will surely be an adjustment period as Jenna settles in and the two ladies get used to working with one another, the 54-year-old is positive she and her new co-host will develop a strong dynamic.
“I think, as we go through it together, we’ll figure out where our magic moments are,” she said.
Hoda Kotb is looking forward to the future. https://t.co/niR9bJBAdS
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) March 6, 2019
And as Jenna Bush Hager prepares to take over Kathie Lee’s spot, Hoda assured fans that one of the program’s most popular aspects isn’t going anywhere.
“The wine has to stay! I mean it’s a party, it will always be a party,” she exclaimed. “I mean, things will change but the wine will stay.”
