Originally appeared on E! Online
Mariska Hargitay is more than happy to take on this task.
The "Law & Order: SVU" star recently reacted to Hoda Kotb announcing that she would leave the "TODAY" show in early 2025.
“I love you so much and I’m so proud and inspired by you, and was so excited to see you today,” the actress told Kotb and co-host Savannah Guthrie on "TODAY" Tuesday. “And I’m so grateful to be able to say that.”
“When you made your decision, I said, ‘Yes,’” Hargitay gushed. “And, my gosh, I grieve for all of us in this country who’s gonna miss you, and most of all, [Savannah].”
The Emmy winner even offered to take over Kotb’s anchor duties, telling the co-hosts she was “happy to step in anytime.”
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Hargitay — who kicks off her 26th season as Olivia Benson on the procedural drama Thursday — also noted her and Kotb’s similar work anniversary. “We’re 26 years together baby,” she said, referring to the journalist’s 1998 start at NBC as a correspondent on "Dateline." “And we’re 60 together, baby.”
Kotb, who turned 60 in August, cited her milestone birthday as one of the factors that influenced her decision to leave "TODAY".
“I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new,” she revealed on air Sept. 26. “I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs, 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.”
She also expressed her desire to focus on her family, namely her daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 5.
“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,” she said. “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.”
