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Hoda Kotb says she can’t help but feel like a proud parent as she watches Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones on Today‘s fourth hour
“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,'” the Joy 101 founder tells PEOPLE
Today with Jenna & Sheinelle kicked off Jan. 12 — and Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford made surprise appearances
Hoda Kotb is passing the torch.
The Joy 101 founder, 61, reflected on her time as a host of Today‘s fourth hour, first alongside Kathie Lee Gifford and then with Jenna Bush Hager, for this week’s PEOPLE cover with Sheinelle Jones.
“First of all, I feel honored to have been one of the stewards of this show. Honored. And 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,” says Kotb. “And now, to watch Jenna and Sheinelle have a place where magic is reigniting again, to me, is one of the most satisfying feelings.”
NBC
Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford pass the wine torch to Sheinelle Jones and Jenna Bush Hager
Today with Jenna & Sheinelle kicked off Jan. 12, complete with Kotb and Gifford making surprise appearances to toast the show’s new era.
“First of all, you invented the genre, you really did,” Jones said to Gifford on air.
Adds Kotb: “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. 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 co-hosted Today with Hoda & Jenna from 2019 until her exit in Jan. 2025. The mom of two chose to step down from her role at Today to spend more time with her daughters, Haley Joy, 9, and Hope Catherine, 6, as well as focusing on her wellness app, Joy 101.
Prior to her time with Bush Hager, Kotb co-hosted Today with Kathie Lee & Hoda alongside Gifford starting in 2008.
Jordan Strauss/AP
athie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb reunite at QVC and TikTok’s Super Brand Day alongside QVC’s 2025 Q50 class in May 2025
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“I think it’s really cool to watch [Jenna and Sheinelle] and to witness, and I’m proud of Jenna for doing this the entire year,” Kotb adds of Bush Hager hosting Jenna & Friends with more than 60 celebrities.
“And now,” she says, “to have a gentle place with such a pro like Sheinelle is going to be next level.”
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