CNN's Abby Phillip Says She Was 'So Happy' to See Hoda Kotb's Decision to Leave Today: 'Courageous and Brave' (Exclusive)

Abby Phillip has nothing but praise and encouragement for Hoda Kotb.

In 2024 Glamour Awards for women of the year on Tuesday, October 8. Philip discussed Kotb’s decision to exit the Today show after 17 years with the program and 25 years with NBC. Kotb, 60, made the difficult decision after a year of personal challenges, including a medical crisis involving her younger daughter Hope, 5, which the host declined to disclose due to privacy concerns.

“I totally felt it, and deep in my heart, I think a lot of us did, because we sacrifice a lot to do these jobs, and they’re really important. And actually, they’re important for our kids to see us doing things in the world,” Phillip tells PEOPLE. “But there’s a time when it’s good to say, ‘I’ve done a lot, I’ve done good things, and it’s time to spend time with my family.’ ”

“I was so happy for her,” Phillip continues, adding that she felt Kotb was “so brave and courageous, I think he made that decision in that moment.”

“And everyone wants to spin it however they want,” adds Philip. “But I think on a personal level, as a mother, every mother understands what that moment is like.”

Hoda Kotb turns 60! To see the Beloved Today The presenter’s life and career in photos

Hoda Kotb walks with daughters Hailey and Hope.

Hoda Kotb/Instagram

Kotb shared in this week’s issue of PEOPLE that Hope’s medical situation improved after Hope and older sister, Hailey, 7, were moved from their apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side to a home in Westchester. “We are in a place where Hope is successful. She’s improving, we’re monitoring her, and I think as time goes on we’ll get better at dealing with it, but we’re already seeing big differences,” Kotb told PEOPLE. “We have really excellent care, I have people who help us. I feel that he is finding a stable foothold.”

With Hope in kindergarten and Hailey in second grade, Kotb is well aware that time flies.

“I knew I wanted this decade to be different. I looked at my time like a pie,” she continued. “I thought, this is how much time I have, and now what am I going to do with it and how am I going to share it? And I wanted it to be filled with more them.”

The veteran journalist also admitted that a certain level of “guilt” contributed to the change.

The sweetest moments of Hoda Kotb with her Today Show co-hosts and best friends Savannah Guthrie and Jenna Bush Hager

Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on ‘Today.’

Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

“There’s a guilt you carry because you can’t be 100% at work and 100% at home,” she said. “You have to give something if you want excellence. If you want to excel at work, you have to give something at home. And if you want to be excellent at home – I think excellent and do all things — something has to give at work. It cannot be equal.”

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Kotb, who will remain in her current position until the beginning of 2025.

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Source: HIS Education