Hoda Kotb reveals Matt Lauer congratulated her

It seems that there is no bad blood between Hoda Kotb and the man she replaced, as the newest anchor of Today revealed that Matt Lauer sent her a text on Tuesday after learning about her promotion.

‘Matt sent a text this morning saying congrats and that meant a lot, meant the world,’ Kotb told Extra during a brief break between her 8am and 10am hosting duties.

Her co-host Savannah Guthrie then added: ‘There is no question our hearts are with Matt and always will be and we love him. There is no one that would be cheering Hoda more than Matt.’ 

Kotb was still giddy about the news three hours after the announcement , despite admitting she learned about the promotion before the holiday. 

‘I am, like, pinching myself. This is one of those things, when Savannah played the open, and then played it again… it’s one of those things that you never in your lifetime actually ever imagine happening – you just don’t,’ she explained.

‘We’ve been sitting together for, like, more than a year, kind of, anyway, so I just got a little closer – I scooted over a little to Savannah.’ 

Big day Today: Hoda Kotb (abobe with Savannah Guthrie) revealed on Tuesday that Matt Lauer had texted her to say ‘congratulations’ after she got his job at Today

Busy bee: ‘Matt sent a text this morning saying congrats and that meant a lot, meant the world,’ Kotb said during a brief break between anchoring the 8 and 10am hours ( l to r: Lauer, Kotb, Guthrie and Willie Geist in 2016 )

‘We talked about it a little around Christmastime and we were talking about it because it was sort of a natural thing… and it just sort of felt like, I guess, a natural progression,’ said Kotb of the negotiation between herself and the network. 

‘It felt kind of comfortable, I think.’

Guthrie later said that hosting alongside Kotb was very comfortable for her, noting: ‘None of this was planned, obviously but then when we all saw how much it worked and how good it felt and how we hope viewers like this pairing, too, it was kind of a no-brainer: Of course we want to keep it going.’

The two women also revealed in an interview with People that they came together and said a prayer for Lauer on the morning they learned he had been fired by NBC.

‘I won’t forget it. I said to Savannah after that prayer, “We’re gonna make it through this together,”‘ said Kotb. 

‘We just sort of sat there and I was sort of on autopilot, I don’t really remember a lot of it, but I do remember just sort of holding onto Savannah and saying it just wasn’t in our hands anymore, it was in God’s hands.’

Guthrie added: ‘I remember reading something later that said I had grabbed Hoda’s hand, and of course that’s not something you plan. That’s just something you do because you have a real friend, and you need to hold her hand.’

‘I think you could see from the moment that the news happened that our hearts were broken, and in lots of ways, they still are,’ said Guthrie.

‘That feeling was shared through our whole newsroom and our whole Today show staff, because it sounds like cliché or a promo line, but it happens to be true: We are family, and we do love each other, and families do go through hard times, and when that happens in good families, you just get closer.’

She went on to say: ‘You pull together and you focus on the foundation and what keeps you together. I think that’s what we’ve all been trying to do. And for me, I just am trying to get comfortable with how complicated the feelings around all of it are, and it is complicated. 

‘And just trying to have love and compassion for everyone concerned.’

 

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