Savannah Guthrie Shares Emotional Tribute to Hoda Kotb on Her Last Day at Today: ‘I Will Always Be by Your Side’

Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Craig Melvin and Carson Daly are bidding farewell to the Today show staple Hoda Kotb after her 17 years on the show.

On Friday, Jan. 10, Guthrie and the rest of the Today family shared an emotional tribute to Kotb as she marked her final day on the NBC news program.

“When we thought how best to celebrate you, Hoda, and what you’ve meant to all of us, it was really just one word — love,” Guthrie told Kotb to start the tribute. “You are love. And we love you. You’re all about it. We’re so inspired by you every day.”

And though she wanted to celebrate her friend, Guthrie quipped, “If I don’t do this interview, does that mean she won’t leave?”

Calling Kotb, 60, “like a sister to me,” Guthrie, 53, gushed, “She’s so special, it’s almost beyond description.”

The Today co-anchors cherish their time before the show getting ready in the hair and makeup chair, with Guthrie expressing, “We treasure this time before the show where we just talk and sometimes it would get really emotional and the poor makeup artist would have to start all over again.”

Calling Kotb “the ultimate people person,” Guthrie added, “Hoda, I love you. I love you deeply. And like I always tell you, whether you’re sitting next to me or not. Whether we get up at 4 o’clock in the morning together or not, I will always be by your side and you will always be by mine.”

Melvin, who will be taking over Kotb’s co-anchor spot, raved over her ability to connect with everyone she talks to.

“Hoda doesn’t do interviews, she has conversations,” Melvin said. “She’s not looking you in the eyes, she’s peering into your soul.”

Weatherman Roker got emotional reflecting on the time Kotb helped him through a health battle in 2022.

“I was gravely ill. I never had any idea how sick I was,” Roker said. “I was in the hospital and I think Hoda was there if not every day, almost every day… it got to the point where I think people thought she was a doctor.”

He added of the mother of two, “I am going to miss you coming out of that dressing room every morning, but you know what? You, Hope and Haley get to come out of your rooms and see each other every morning, and so, how could I be sad?”

Kotb broke down in tears over her co-workers’ tributes, jokingly declaring, “That was not fair. Can I just say thank you? I haven’t been able to articulate it because I’m a mess most of the times. I just want to say thanks.”

She jokingly told Melvin, “Craig, I’m so happy for you. You’ve earned this. You own this. And come Monday at seven o’clock a.m. I am going to be dead asleep, but you’re going to be fantastic.”

But her most emotional response came for Guthrie, as she wiped away tears.

“You’re my person, my person,” Kotb told Guthrie. “You know who shows up for everybody? This girl. When your brother died, this girl. When I was going through stuff with Hope it was this girl. She’s in the room. She’s always in the room. And I love you.”

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The tribute comes after Guthrie and Kotb shared a sweet moment at Rockefeller Center tree lighting in December nearly three months after Kotb announced her decision to depart the Today show after 17 years.

In a sweet video shared by the Today show on Instagram, the pair stood arm in arm as they watched snowflakes fall, and Kotb looked lovingly at her longtime co-host, who leaned her head against Kotb’s shoulder and they shared a moment.

In October, Guthrie opened up to PEOPLE about her reaction to learning Kotb would be leaving the morning show.

“Well, I would say I was shocked but not surprised because she and I have had many, many conversations about life and what does it mean in our hopes and our dreams, and I knew that 60 was a big moment and where she’s thinking a lot about just how she wants to spend the rest of her day,” Guthrie said at the time. “So I wasn’t surprised.” 

She continued, “But then when it happened, of course I was happy for her because I think it’s so courageous and bold and amazing and this mode of confidence in herself and her bright future that she’s writing, and she’s writing it.”

Guthrie added that she was proud of her friend for taking a leap of faith, saying, “It’s not like she knows, ‘Oh I’m going to this job. I’m going. She doesn’t know, but she knows what she can do and I love that and I’m inspired by that.”

She concluded, “And of course I’m also sad because I love her so much and if I had it my way, we’d be together forever.”

In September, Kotb revealed that she would leave the Today show after nearly two decades. Craig Melvin is set to step in as her replacement, beginning on Monday, Jan. 13.

Kotb praised Melvin, 45, after the news was announced, telling him on-air, “You are made for this job.”

“You are literally made for this job. You are that kind of good,” she continued. “You have all the things that this job needs. You’re the right person for it.”