Hoda Kotb couldn’t be happier for the two women who are now helming the show she once starred on.
Sheinelle Jones, 47, has officially joined the fourth hour of the Today Show after Kotb departed last year – and recently made her debut as Jenna Bush Hager‘s new cohost.
For years, Kotb, 61, hosted the morning show with Bush Hager, 44, following the departure of her long-time cohost Kathie Lee Gifford.
Now Kotb is watching with pride Hager coming into her own as a broadcaster.
‘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,’ she told People.
‘And now, to watch Jenna and Sheinelle have a place where magic is reigniting again, to me, is one of the most satisfying feelings,’ she added.
Hoda Kotb couldn’t be happier for the two women who are now helming the show she once starred on; pictured in September 2025
The television personality said she felt like a ‘proud mom’ watching Sheinelle Jones recently making her debut as Jenna Bush Hager’s new cohost, almost exactly one year after her own exit
Jones made her debut as Bush Hager’s co-host last week.
For the Monday, January 12 taping, Kotb and her former cohost of the fourth hour, Kathie Lee Gifford, made surprise appearances during the live taping.
At one point during the segment, Jones gave flowers to her predecessors.
To Gifford, Jones said: ‘First of all, you invented the genre. You really did.’
While on air, Kotb also shared her same sentiment in Jones’ cover story and told her: ‘All you want is for the show to continue to be wildly successful. And by the way, I have not a shadow of 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.”‘
She later added: ‘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.
‘And now, to have a gentle place with such a pro like Sheinelle is going to be next level,’ she concluded.
Kotb, 61, had cohosted the entertainment focused fourth hour of the NBC morning show from 2007 up until her departure in January last year, and she was also the main coanchor of the show from 2018 up until early 2025
Today with Jenna & Sheinelle kicked off on Monday, January 12 taping. Kotb and her former cohost of the fourth hour, Kathie Lee Gifford, also made surprise appearances as the new takeover segment’s first guests
She said it was ‘one of the most satisfying feelings’ to see ‘magic reuniting’ again
On the show, Kotb said she felt like a ‘proud mom’ as she gushed about her former cohost Bush Hager and praised Jones
The fourth hour was once cohosted by Kotb and Gifford from 2008 until 2019. Then it was Kotb and Bush Hager up until January 2025
Kotb stepped down from her role in early January, concluding the streak of Today with Hoda & Jenna from 2019 up until then.
Before Bush Hager joined the fourth hour, Kotb cohosted Today with Kathie Lee & Hoda alongside Gifford, starting in 2008.
She previously explained she wanted to spend more time with her young children — daughters Haley Jay, nine, and six-year-old Hope Catherine — and focus on her wellness app, Joy 101.
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