Hoda Kotb Responds to Rumors She's Replacing Kelly Clarkson on Her Talk Show

Hoda Kotb is mounting nan grounds straight. 

After leaving the Today show successful January, nan mother of 2 returned to nan NBC greeting show to talk her caller wellness venture, Joy 101, connected Wednesday, May 28. While Kotb, 60, was successful Studio 1A, her Today replacement, Craig Melvin, didn’t walk up nan opportunity to mobility her astir immoderate caller rumors. 

Referencing recent reports that Kotb was group to switch Kelly Clarkson connected her self-titled daytime talk show, Melvin, 46, asked his erstwhile workfellow if location was truth to nan story. 

“Do y’all deliberation — I want to inquire y’all a existent mobility — do you deliberation if I ever came backmost to TV, do you cognize wherever nan only spot I would ever travel backmost to is?” Kotb past asked her erstwhile co-anchors. “Right here. This is nan spot.”

In nonstop consequence to nan rumors, Kotb said, “Delete, not true.”

Savannah Guthrie teased her pal, saying, “I thought you were because I cognize you’ve been playing your guitar and singing a batch lately, and I thought you were fresh for immoderate Hodaoke,” referencing Clarkson’s celebrated "Kellyoke" segment. 

But Kotb assured her that wasn’t nan case. While noting that she will beryllium connected Clarkson’s show adjacent week, she said it will beryllium “just for fun.” 

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Although she’s not returning to TV, Kotb does person a caller business task — her wellness company, which includes an app, unrecorded events and a subscription newsletter centering astir themes of joy, mindfulness, meditation and wellness. 

“I’m starting a caller business,” Kotb shared connected Today. “I’m putting each my clip and effort into what I dream will make group consciousness better, which was my favourite portion of nan show anyway. How tin we assistance group up? How tin we lighten nan load? What tin we do?” 

In her exclusive screen communicative pinch PEOPLE, Kotb revealed that she stepped down arsenic co-host aft her daughter, Hope, 6, was diagnosed pinch type 1 glucosuria successful 2023.

As a result, being wholly disposable for her girl became non-negotiable. The news characteristic said, “I really wanted to and needed to beryllium present to watch complete her. So, whenever she needs anything, and it tin hap astatine night, aggregate times, I’m up — I’m up up up.”

She besides talked astir her caller attack to life, which includes much clip spent pinch her daughters, including Haley, 8. “It’s really cool to conscionable recognize that there’s truthful overmuch much to life,” Kotb said. “I wasn’t capable to carnivore witnesser to my kids’ regular lives because of what I was doing. I sewage to spot Haley singing ‘What a Wonderful World’ astatine 9:15 a.m. — I would person missed that. I utilized to deliberation life was nan large things, but it really is each nan worldly that happens successful between.”