Hoda Kotb sent shockwaves through Today show viewers after calling it quits following five years on air. While Kotb, 60, publicly cited family as the reason for her departure, a Puck report published Friday,

The beloved journalist is stepping back from her career to focus more on raising her two daughters, whom she adopted in 2017 and 2019.

Hoda Kotb, a fixture at NBC for more than two decades, says she will leave her morning perch on the “Today” show early next year, telling staffers “it’s time.” In a memo to her team — and later in an emotional on-air reveal Thursday — Kotb said her 60th birthday this summer helped trigger the departure: “I saw it all so clearly: my broadcast career has been beyond meaningful,