Mariska Hargitay offers to step in as Today’s co-host after Hoda Kotb’s exit announcement

Hoda Kotbthe decision to leave the Today the show is the one that her boyfriend Mariska Hargitay admire.

“I love you so much, I’m so proud and inspired by you and I was excited to see you today,” Hargitay told Kotb, both 60, at the end of her interview in the episode of Tuesday October 1st. Today. “And I’m so grateful to be able to say that because we’ve been together for 26 years, baby. And we have 60 years together, baby.

Kotb began his career at NBC as a Data line correspondent 26 years ago, shortly before Hargitay made her debut as Olivia Benson in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit in 1999.

Referring to Kotb’s upcoming departure from Todaythe actress continued, “And so when you made your decision, I said, ‘Yes!’ I said: “Yes!” And my God, I cry for all of us in this country who will miss you, and above all, (Savannah Guthrie).” (Kotb took over for Matt Lauer as Guthrie’s co-anchor in 2018.)

‘Today’ Show Hosts React to Hoda Kotb’s Surprising Departure

While an official replacement for Kotb has yet to be announced, Hargitay has thrown his own name into the hat. “(I’m) happy to jump in at any time,” she joked. Guthrie, 52, was open to the idea and replied, “We might have to call you.” »

Kotb surprised Today fans on Thursday, September 26, announcing his departure from the series. “I just turned 60, and it was such a monumental moment for me when I turned 60 because I started thinking about this decade, like, what does this decade mean? What is he holding? What will this do for me? » she declared. “And I realized it was time for me to move on at 60 and try something new.”

Kotb made this decision shortly after celebrating his 60th birthday on Today. “I remember standing outside, looking at this beautiful group of people with all these beautiful signs, and I thought, ‘This is what I feel at the top of the wave,’ and I thought, ‘ It can’t be better.’ And (I) decided it was the right time for me to move on,” she explained.

Her two daughters – Haley, 7, and Hope, 5 – also played an important role. “They deserve a bigger piece of my time, of the pie that I have,” Kotb said. “I feel like we only have a limited amount of time. And so, with all that being said, it’s the hardest thing in the world. (Kotb is raising her children with her ex-fiancé, Joel Schiffman.)

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Kotb will stay lit Today until January 2025 and plans to remain with the NBC family for its future projects.

Following the news of Today show shakeup, source exclusively told Us every week that NBC is eyeing Laura Jarrett replacing Kotb. “She is the anchor of Weekend today; she’s a lawyer like Savannah,” the insider noted. “She’s a darling Today show who got up very quickly.

The source added: “The other option is they could move the anchors. They could put Craig (Melvin) with Savannah, or they could put Sheinelle (Jones) with Savannah.

While Kotb said his family was the main reason for his departure, a Puck a report later claimed that Kotb could have chosen to leave Today after he was asked to take a pay cut of more than $20 million. However, another source told We that “salary played no role in Hoda’s decision.”