'Today': Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager Celebrate Big Milestone

By Ashley Turner

Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager marked an important milestone on Friday, celebrating three years since they started working together on Today with Hoda & Jenna. A tweet from the show's Twitter account read, "Today marks three whole years since we started Hoda and Jenna.

We are so grateful for all of the laughs, fun, and inspiring conversations. Thank YOU for following along and supporting us, too," the pair wrote in a message to viewers.

Hoda and Jenna airs as part of the Today Show's fourth hour. 57-year-old Kotb has been a part of the show since it debuted in April 2008. Bush Hager joined the show in 2019 after Kathie Lee Gifford stepped down from the co-host position the prior year. Hager, 40, shared NBC's official PR Twitter account's message marking the third anniversary, writing, "Love you [hodakotb]! Three years with the best!" Kotb shared Bush Hager's message with her response of "Love you!" and three heart emojis.

On the Friday morning episode, Kotb and Bush Hager participated in a segment where they answered questions about their show from the previous three years. Kotb said their anniversary didn't feel like it had been three years, and Bush Hager replied in a teasing tone, "What's the three-year anniversary gift?" The show hosts also thought they would be chatting with a longtime fan to mark their anniversary when Trisha Yearwood appeared virtually instead. "Trisha? Wait, what?" Kotb screamed with glee as Hager exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, we're both shocked." 

Kotb has had other reasons to celebrate, with her podcast, Making Spaces with Hoda Kotb, making its Season 2 return on March 14. Kotb told viewers on Today that she was "excited" for the upcoming season and said that each episode "is about overcoming something." Making Spaces with Hoda Kotb first launched back in September 2021. The podcast focuses on the importance of "making space" in life to find happiness, with Kotb inviting a weekly guest who shares their personal story of "perseverance and triumph."

Season 2 is expected to feature several special guests, including Amy Schumer, Viola Davis, and former football player Emmanuel Acho. In March, Hager, who appeared as a guest on the podcast's first season, told Entertainment Tonight that Kotb was a "dear friend." "[She] has treated me with such love and has been a mentor and now a really dear friend," she said. 

Bush Hager also mentioned the close bond Kotb, she, and the Today crew share. "I think we all are just so happy to have each other," she said. "People say the Today show is a family and it seems like a cliché... but it's true. Hoda is like a sister to me, a lovely, wonderful presence in my life... That is the truth. We have such a supportive force and I encourage people if they don't have that in their workplace to build it, because that is what we have here."

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