Kathie Lee Gifford expressed mixed emotions about Hoda Kotb’s decision to leave her position on the “Today” show next year.

On Friday, Gifford shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), “Bittersweet news as my dear friend @hodakotb is stepping away from the Today Show. Her warmth, laughter, and wonderful spirit have brightened our mornings and touched so many lives. Here’s to new adventures! 🥂”

From 2008 to 2019, Gifford, 71, and Kotb, 60, co-hosted the fourth hour of the NBC morning program, which was titled “Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda” until Gifford left to focus on other endeavors.

In 2019, Gifford remarked to YSL News, “It wasn’t that I wanted to leave the ‘Today’ show; I simply needed to move on to pursue lifelong dreams that I felt I was running out of time to achieve.” This year, she made a guest appearance with her daughter, Cassidy, in the Amazon Prime Video series “The Baxters.”

About Kotb, Gifford said, “She has a heart of gold. She’s incredibly intelligent and brilliant, yet maintains a childlike wonder about life, especially after becoming a mother. She’s just a fantastic mom.”

Kotb surprised her fans when she announced her upcoming exit from “Today” on Thursday.

With tears in her eyes, she described her choice as the “hardest thing in the world.” Reflecting on her 60th birthday last month, she considered it a “monumental” turning point that prompted her to think about what lies ahead in the next decade.

“I came to realize that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and explore new opportunities,” she stated, adding, “This feels like the right time for me to transition.”

Kotb mentioned that her children need a “bigger portion of my time.” She intends to leave “Today” in early 2025.

How Savannah Guthrie and Jenna Bush Hager responded to Hoda Kotb’s exit news

Kotb has been a part of NBC News since 1998, starting as a “Dateline” correspondent and later becoming the co-anchor of the “Today” show with Savannah Guthrie since 2018. Following Gifford’s departure in 2019, she has co-hosted the fourth hour with Jenna Bush Hager.

During the Thursday broadcast, an emotional Guthrie expressed, “I am incredibly proud of my friend.”

“It takes a lot of courage to leave such a wonderful job that you love and are comfortable with. To say, ‘I want to dream even bigger for myself,’ is truly brave,” she continued. “You inspire me. I love you.”

Both co-hosts were teary during “Today with Hoda and Jenna.”

“Hoda confided in me just a couple of days ago, and my first reaction was visceral, almost frantic. … I said, ‘No, you can’t leave,’” Bush Hager recalled. “You are my go-to person for joy and support. You’ve always had my back. On October 28, 2013 — I remembered the moment — you said, ‘Want to come sit next to me? There’s room.'”

Kotb responded, “Seeing the magic in you was the easiest thing I’ve ever witnessed.”