Kathie Lee Gifford announced on Tuesday morning (December 11) that she will be leaving the fourth hour of Today and the emotions were at an all-time high, especially alongside co-host Hoda Kotb.
"I have something to share with everybody," the TV legend host told viewers. "It's bittersweet as these things always are. But, I have been here almost 11 years, I thought I would stay one year. Something happened along the way, fell in love with a beautiful Egyptian goddess. And now when it's our 11th anniversary, I will be leaving the Today show. It's an exciting time for me, and I'm thrilled about all the projects that are coming up, but it's also hard because the reason I stayed longer than a year is because I love everybody here so much."
Among one of the projects that Gifford is leaving the long-running daytime talk show to focus on include her 11-minute film, The God Who Sees, which is filming in Israel. "I want to thank everyone who has watched us all these years as well because we started out as a nothing burger and we were outside on the plaza and the wind was blowing and the cards were flying and it was a disaster," the host continued.
NBC News president Noah Oppenheim made the announcement to the staff prior to the broadcast in an e-mail. Gifford is scheduled to stay through the show's 11th anniversary on April 7, 2019.
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