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Today Show’s 2025 Holiday Card Sparks Fan Frenzy Over Missing Co-Host
New York, NY – The “Today Show” unwrapped its 2025 holiday card on Monday, December 1st, treating fans to a heartwarming snowy scene featuring the current lineup of beloved co-hosts. However, the festive unveiling quickly became a hot topic of discussion as many viewers noticed the absence of a familiar face: former co-host Hoda Kotb.
The popular NBC morning show shared the card across its social media platforms, showcasing Willie Geist, Sheinelle Jones, Dylan Dreyer, Peter Alexander, Kristen Welker, Jenna Bush Hager, Al Roker, Savannah Guthrie, Craig Melvin, and Carson Daly bundled up in a winter wonderland, with “Happy Holidays” emblazoned at the bottom. Accompanying the image was a charming video of the group enjoying classic winter activities like building a snowman, engaging in a snowball fight, and sipping hot cocoa, all under the cheerful caption, “Happy Holidays from our family to yours!”
While the card garnered an outpouring of love from many loyal fans, with comments like “Happiest holidays to one of my favorite families” and “Love this group of people! I start every day with them!”, a significant number of viewers expressed their disappointment over Kotb’s omission. “I miss Hoda,” one fan simply stated in the comments section.
Kotb, a long-time fixture on the “Today Show,” anchored the first two hours alongside Savannah Guthrie and famously co-hosted the fourth hour, initially with Kathie Lee Gifford and later with Jenna Bush Hager. Her departure from the show was announced in September 2024, with Kotb citing a desire to dedicate more time to her daughters, eight-year-old Haley Joy and six-year-old Hope Catherine.
In an interview five months after her exit, Kotb reflected on her decision, telling People, “It’s really cool to just realize that there’s so much more to life. I wasn’t able to bear witness to my kids’ daily lives because of what I was doing.”
She recounted a poignant moment: “I got to see Haley sing ‘What a Wonderful World’ at 9:15 a.m. – I would have missed that. I used to think life was the big things, but it really is all the stuff that happens in between.”
Kotb’s decision to step back from her full-time duties also followed a challenging period in February 2023 when her daughter Hope experienced a two-week hospital stay due to an illness. Hope was later diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, requiring round-the-clock monitoring.
Kotb emphasized her need to be present for her daughter, stating, “I really wanted to and needed to be here to watch over her. So, whenever she needs anything, and it can happen at night, multiple times, I’m up – I’m up up up.”
She was careful to clarify that her departure wasn’t solely due to Hope’s health. “But I would never, ever want Hope to one day grow up and say, ‘Oh, my mom left her job because [of me].’
It wasn’t that alone. But if you look at it cumulatively, it was a part of that decision,” Kotb added.
Despite her departure from daily hosting duties, Kotb hasn’t completely disappeared from the screens. She recently made a welcome return as co-host of the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, joining Guthrie and Roker for the festive event.