Hoda Kotb rides off into the sunset in her final Today show

It was a week of “Hoda-bration” leading up to longtime Today host Hoda Kotb’s final show. On Friday, the morning show said goodbye with a litany of special guests, surprises, and emotional send-offs. Among the celebs paying tribute to the journalist in the early hours include Jamie Lee Curtis, Oprah Winfrey, Simone Biles, and Maria Shriver. And of course, she was fêted by her Today colleagues like Craig Melvin, Al Roker, and Savannah Guthrie, who said that Kotb is “so special it is almost beyond description.” 

The celebration peaked with a special (and emotional) installment of Today With Hoda & Jenna, where Kotb and her co-host Jenna Bush Hager welcomed guests like Gayle King and Jimmy Fallon for the big goodbye. Despite the program getting briefly interrupted by Donald Trump’s sentencing, there were still plenty of lovely moments, like a pretaped goodbye letter from Hager and a serenade of country singer’s unreleased track “Wednesdays,” which Kotb co-wrote. 

There was also, of course, an appearance from Kotb’s original co-host Kathie Lee Gifford, who sent a video message to trick Kotb into thinking she wasn’t showing up, and then came into the studio to toast her with a comically large glass of wine. “I’m sending you off with a prayer,” Gifford said, quoting a bible verse. “May you walk into the most joyful, prosperous, purposeful time in your life.”

Kotb herself bid farewell to the show’s many fans with what she said was not a goodbye letter, but a love letter. “It’s actually kind of a thank you note as well. So how do I say it? How do I say thank you for more hugs and more love than one person deserves?” she said in part (via Today). “I have become who I am on this hour of this show, and you are there with me every step of the way. So as I sit here today in my final moments, on this final day in this chapter of my career, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my very full heart for the ride of a lifetime. I love you.”

The fourth hour of NBC’s morning show will continue on as Today With Jenna & Friends, where Hager will co-host with a rotating slate of guests until a permanent host is chosen (Upcoming Taraji P. Henson, Keke Palmer, Eva Longoria, and Michelle Buteau.) Kotb, meanwhile, is launching a wellness brand and stated her desire to spend more time with her children. In her last moments on Today With Hoda & Jenna, Kotb and her young daughters drove away from the NBC building in her white minivan, calling, “Byeeeeeeee!”