Today’s co-hosts gathered for a fun photography session this week to create their annual holiday card.
The crew — including Hoda Kotb, Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker — looked jovial in the image in which they were standing behind Today spelled out in giant illuminated letters.
They brought festive cheer in red, green and gold outfits. But one host left viewers scratching their heads.
Willie Geist was perched on the end next to Dylan Dreyer but fans noticed someone off about him.
“Was Willie photoshopped in lol?” one asked as another answered: “I said the same thing, Willie was photoshopped!”
Sure enough, Willie looked like a cardboard cut-out next to his co-hosts. He was also absent in the BTS video shared by the show.
It’s a particularly bittersweet card this year as it’ll be Hoda’s last one alongside her friends and colleagues.
She’s leaving the show in the new year with Craig replacing her.
Hoda said she had a revelation as she turned 60 that she wanted to spend more time with her children, Haley and Hope.
But she’s not retiring completely. In October, she revealed to Good Housekeeping that she has some big career plans and hopes to build a wellness brand.
When asked by the outlet what she’ll miss most about Today, she said: “I will miss my early morning intimate conversations with Savannah and Jenna the most. When you’re bleary-eyed at four or five in the morning, when you have had a tough night with your kids or whatever it was — when you walk in, that’s when you’re super vulnerable.”
Hoda continued: “There’s something about being with people during that time, and that’s when you confess it all.
“And I’ll miss that because Savannah and I have had some incredible therapy sessions moments before we go on air. It’s literally, ‘Pass me the tissues. Okay, 3, 2, 1, go.’ And it’s crazy.”
While Craig will step into her shoes on the main show, Today with Hoda and Jenna will become Today with Jenna and Friends.
It’ll feature rotating co-anchors alongside Jenna Bush Hager, who Hoda will also miss hugely.
“With Jenna, when I hop in the makeup room with her, we could sit for hours (and often do),” she revealed. “Sometimes she’ll just give me a look, and I’ll just feel it all come out. I feel like that kind of thing is rare, and I’ll miss that. I’ll miss the daily check-ins. I’m going to obviously be friends with them forever, but I know the daily stuff won’t be the same, and that is what makes me sad.”
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