Hoda Kotb has been with NBC for 26 years with 5 of those with the “Today” show, and today, she announced she’s leaving at the end of the year. Her 60th birthday felt like a good time “to turn the page”.

Hoda’s intention to spend more time with her daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, was a huge part of that decision.

“Obviously I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have,” she said. “I feel like we only have a finite amount of time. “And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”

She will stay on with NBC in an unspecified role.