🚨💛 Hoda Kotb’s Surprise Return to Today Left Fans Emotional 😭📺 Just when viewers thought they had adjusted to life without Hoda Kotb on Today, the beloved TV star made an unexpected return to Studio 1A — and the reaction was instant. ❤️

Today With Jenna & Sheinelle ended its latest week of shows with a familiar face in Studio 1A.

Hoda Kotb stopped by the fourth hour of Today on Friday, May 29. “You know it’s a special day around here when Hoda’s in the house,” Sheinelle Jones exclaimed, while Jenna Bush Hager added, “We are so happy. Hoda is back to share a sweet story with us.”

Before Kotb introduced her video package about Peggy E. Moore, a 75-year-old Temple University employee who recently graduated from the school, Bush Hager congratulated Kotb on the one-year anniversary of her wellness company, Joy 101.

“First of all, can you believe our little company, we’re 1? I cannot believe what happened,” Kotb stated. “I still remember being with my sister and my bestie, going, ‘Can we build something that spreads joy? What does that even look like?’ And literally, a year later, I was looking at the Zoom call of our team, and I think there were 15 people on it. And I was counting, and we’re building it brick-by-brick.”

She continued, “I was thinking, ‘What’s better than being able to do the thing you love?’ And you know, that’s what I’ve loved forever, it’s like, surprising, spreading joy. And then, at night, I get to snuggle my kids. That’s all there is, girls!”

Kotb noted that she was “so excited” about Joy 101’s plans for the rest of 2026 and next year. “Our retreats sold out so quick; 250 were able to go, and there were 7,000 people on the waitlist. We’re doing a ton more. We’re gonna do them all over,” she revealed. “We’ve got one called Joy Fest that’s coming up in [2027], which is gonna be our big event, which I’m so excited about, where I have great speakers and just motivation and all the rest. And we are in the curriculum at Virginia Tech, like, they have to do it. So, we want to spread around.”

Bush Hager praised Kotb’s Joy 101 accomplishments, stating, “​​We are desperate for joy in this country, and there’s no better ambassador for it than you.” Kotb thanked her for the kind words and offered her own for Bush Hager and Jones. “You guys are spreading joy every day. I watch you, and you make me so proud,” she gushed.

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Kotb left her longtime role as a Today host in January 2025 and returned to the show that May to celebrate the launch of Joy 101. Though Kotb is no longer a full-time host, she has returned to the show several times over the past year to give updates on her latest projects and share heartwarming human interest stories. (Jones took over as Bush Hager’s permanent fourth hour co-host in January.)

Earlier this year, she temporarily returned to her former anchor role while Savannah Guthrie took time away from the show in the wake of her mother Nancy Guthrie‘s disappearance. Last month, she returned to the anchor desk for a week alongside Savannah while Craig Melvin enjoyed spring break with his family.

In a recent interview with TV Insider, Al Roker teased how much fans can expect to see Kotb pop up on Today. “Oh, listen. Hoda has never gone very far away, which is great, because she is family,” he quipped. “We had a running gag, ‘cause when she’d come back to do something, it was like, ‘Oh, look who’s back from vacation!’ Hoda is part of the family, and family members come and go. They come back. They’re hanging around, come back for a vacation. They’re gone. They’re back. So the more we can see Hoda, the better.”

Today With Jenna & Sheinelle, Weekdays, 10 am, NBC