NEW YORK – Hoda Kotb has announced that she will leave NBC's TODAY show in 2025 but will remain part of the NBC family.

Kotb made the tearful announcement Thursday morning, sending a letter to TODAY staff about her decision to resign.

“As I write this, my heart is pounding. I know I'm making the right decision, but it's a painful one. And you all are the reason for it. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I feel that so much right now. I love you and it's time for me to leave the show,” she wrote in the letter.

During the show Thursday morning, she said she made her decision after her 60th birthday in August.

“At 60, I realized it was time for me to turn over a new leaf and try something new,” she said. “I remember standing outside and looking at this wonderful group of people with these amazing signs, and I thought, 'This is what the crest of the wave feels like to me.' And I thought, it can't get any better than this, and I decided this is the right time for me to move on.”

She also said that she wanted to spend more time with her two children.

“I had my children late in life and thought they deserved a bigger piece of my time pie than I did,” she said. “I feel like we only have a limited amount of time.

Kotb has worked for NBC News for nearly 30 years. Before that, she worked at “Dateline” and co-anchored the fourth hour of TODAY with Kathie Lee Gifford and then Jenna Bush Hager. She has co-anchored TODAY with Savannah Guthrie for more than five years, according to NBC.

Hoda said she will remain in the NBC family in an unspecified role after her departure.

“My time at NBC has been the longest professional love affair of my life. But only because you have been by my side on this 26-year adventure,” she wrote in her email to her colleagues. “…But one thing I know for sure now is that everything will be OK. The peacock's feathers are never ruffled…no matter who comes or goes. TODAY and its wonderful people – all of you – never waver. You always weather change with grace and courage.”