She added, “I feel like we only have a finite amount of time. And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”

The anchor also explained that turning 60 felt like the right time to make a shift and “try something new,” noting that it was something she realized after her birthday celebrations.

“I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs,” Hoda recalled, “and I thought, ‘This is what the top of the wave feels like for me.’ And I thought it can’t get better, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on.”

And while the veteran journalist won’t be saying goodbye officially until early next year, some folks, like Today meteorologist Dylan Dreyer, are already thinking ahead as to who could fill her shoes.