Hoda Kotb Joined Savannah Guthrie on the 'TODAY' Show Again After Her Retirement

It seems like Hoda Kotb just can't get away from the TODAY show as much as she tries. She originally retired in 2025, but she was asked back multiple times to help out. So, why is Hoda back on the TODAY show in April 2026? She was once a fixture as one of the main hosts, so she's not an unfamiliar face by any means. Her return is just a little confusing for viewers.

This isn't the first time she came back since her January 2025 retirement. Hoda left the show to spend more time with her family. Up until that point, she had been part of TODAY for more than 15 years, either as a full-in host or as a featured co-anchor on the show. Now, it seems, she is always around if producers need her.

Although Hoda probably isn't here to stay after she left TODAY, according to Savannah Guthrie during the April 13 episode, Hoda came back in April 2026 to help fill in for her replacement, Craig Melvin, during his family vacation out of town. The women share a moment during the show where they admit it's nice to be back together.

Before Hoda came back to TODAY to help out with Craig's absence, she returned while Savannah was taking time off to deal with the disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie. According to People, Hoda filled in for the longtime anchor in February and March 2026. Prior to that, the women had worked together for years on TODAY.

Technically, Hoda is retired. She announced her exit in September 2024 and shared with her fans that she would be leaving TODAY in January 2025. Which she did, for a time. But, between then and April 2026, Hoda was asked back a few times to help fill in for other hosts. At the time, she said, per NBC, that she planned to "stay in the NBC family." Apparently, that means lending a helping hand when needed.

"I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on," she said in her original announcement about leaving TODAY and retiring. "And then I thought about, obviously I had my kiddos late in life. And I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time."

Another reason for Hoda's TODAY exit was so she could focus on other projects, like her app, Joy 101. It's a membership-based app that focuses on meditation, positivity, and breathwork. Members can also experience retreats with all of that in mind and, per its website, Hoda is part of those too. Well, when she's not filling in for someone on TODAY, anyway.

She told Elle, of the idea that sparked her plans for the app, "a place where you could get retreats, courses, personalized support, and quick practices you could fit into your day, just 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there. I wanted to create a retreat you could carry in your pocket, a little community you could access anytime."