Hoda Kotb returns to host 'Today' with Jenna Bush Hager: What to know
Hoda Kotb is coming home to the fourth hour of "Today" for one day only.
The morning show fan favorite will join her former co-host Jenna Bush Hager on Wednesday, May 28, to debut a new wellness company and co-host "Jenna and Friends."
"Surprise! Our girl @hodakotb is our #JennaandFriends co-host tomorrow 🩷 Tune in!" the show's official Instagram page posted.
Bush Hager previously teased the news on a May 22 broadcast, giving viewers a clue about a mystery guest co-host: "They are a former basketball star turned bestselling author," Bush Hager said. "Who is it? Nobody knows."
A 2018 article from the "Making Space" podcast host's hometown newspaper said she lettered in basketball in high school. Kotb has authored several books including "I Really Needed This Today," "I've Loved You Since Forever" and "This Just Speaks to Me."
After exiting "Today" in January, Kotb returned to the morning show in March to promote her forthcoming book "Jump and Find Joy: Embracing Change in Every Season of Life," an aptly titled nod to her next chapter. She stepped back from the "Today" franchise to focus on her life as a mom to her two young daughters, Haley and Hope.
On April 28, a month to the day ahead of its launch, Kotb posted an Instagram video to celebrate one month until the wellness company arrived. "I'm bursting, and I can't wait to share it with you," Kotb told fans, adding that she was "so excited" about her buzzy project.
Kotb announced her departure from "Today" in late September and later told the morning show's audience that her last day would be Jan. 10. Hager started hosting the fourth hour on "Jenna & Friends" with a slew of rotating fill-in co-hosts since Jan. 13.
On her last day at "Today," Kotb told fans during her final message that "this is not a goodbye letter, this is a love letter," reading aloud a note she penned to viewers.
She was replaced on the first two hours of "Today" by Craig Melvin, who now co-host the show opposite of Savannah Guthrie and continues to host the third hour of "Today" opposite Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones. Jones has been absent since December amid the brain cancer battle of her late husband Uche Ojeh.
Contributing: Anna Kaufman
This story has been updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.