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Hoda Kotb, co-host of NBC's “Today” morning show, is leaving her position early next year, she announced Thursday.

Kotb, one of NBC's most recognizable faces, has co-hosted the show with Savannah Guthrie since 2017, succeeding Matt Lauer, who was fired following allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct in the workplace.

“At 60, it was time for me to start a new chapter,” Kotb said on “Today” on Thursday, holding back tears. “I decided this was the right time for me to move on. I had my children late in life, of course, and I thought they deserved a bigger piece of my time pie than I have.”

Kotb is considered a crucial part of the connective tissue of the “Today” show within NBC, as she hosts both the first two hours and the 10 a.m. talk show “Hoda & Jenna.”

She added that it was the “hardest decision of her life.” Kotb has two young daughters that she adopted and wants to spend more time with them.

Kotb joined NBC in 1998 as a correspondent for the news magazine “Dateline.” She was later named co-anchor of the 10 a.m. hour of “Today” with Kathie Lee Gifford in 2008 until Jenna Bush Hager took over the role in 2019.

Guthrie said, “We don't want to imagine this place without you. So it's complicated because we love you so much and we don't want you to ever leave.” However, she told her that she “takes courage when someone leaves at the peak of their career.”

Kotb's exit represents one of the biggest changes in the morning television landscape in at least a decade. Shows like “Today” and ABC's “Good Morning America” ​​are highly profitable parts of their parent companies and cultural icons, even as the broadcast business as a whole is shrinking.

Those in charge of the stations strive for stability and are very cautious when it comes to necessary personnel changes, since so many ratings are at stake.

In a letter to Today staff, Kotb said, “I am happy and grateful to continue to be part of the NBC family, the longest working relationship I have ever had the privilege of having in my heart. I will be there. How could I not? Family is family and all of you will always be part of my family.”

NBC did not immediately name a successor for Kotb and is unlikely to do so for several months.

This story has been updated with additional context and color.