Jason Segel Made ‘Today”s Hoda Kotb Cry On-Air with the Sweetest Compliment

Jason Segel is making sure Hoda Kotb knows her time at Today was appreciated. 

An Instagram Threads post by Today on Wednesday, Oct. 16 showed the Shrinking actor, 44, sharing some kind words with the daytime television host, 60.

“I’m gonna miss you when you’re gone,” Segel said, referring to Kotb recently announcing her departure from the NBC News morning show.

“I just want you to know — these interviews have been some of the best of my whole career, so I’m really grateful to know you,” he added. Kotb appeared to be genuinely touched by his words. 

A teary-eyed Kotb replied, “Wow, thanks,” before getting up to hug her guest. 

On Sept. 26, the famed broadcast journalist revealed she would be leaving the program after 17 years of anchoring the show and 25 years total working for the network. 

The emotional farewell was shared in a letter to staff explaining “my heart is all over” as she tried to find the right words to say good-bye.

“I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful one. And you all are the reason why. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I’m feeling that so deeply right now. I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show,” Kotb continued.

During a live episode that day, she shared that her reason behind the massive decision was to spend more time with her daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4, who “need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie.”

Kotb shared that she will remain with the show until the beginning of next year. 

After announcing her exit, Kotb spoke exclusively to PEOPLE about how she knew it was the right time to move on to the next chapter. 

“I’ve kind of been contemplating, wondering, thinking about what I wanted this next chunk of my life to look like as I turned 60. And I like adventure, I like new beginnings. I’m a sunrise person and not a sunset person, and I was wondering, what does it look like for me?” she said.

She also touched on Hope’s February 2023 medical crisis.

“We’re in a place where Hope is thriving. She is improving, we’re watching her, and I think that as time goes on, we’ll have a better handle on it, but we’re already seeing great differences,” Kotb told PEOPLE. “We have really excellent care, I have people who are helping us out. I feel like she is finding steady footing.”

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She weighed her options, but ultimately went with being there for her girls, who are in second grade and kindergarten. 

“It does make more sense to stay at NBC. I’m financially secure and I would have job security. I mean, why would you ever not do that? But I’ve been watching my kids and I was thinking to myself, I wonder what I’m missing?”

Kotb told PEOPLE she wanted her time “to be filled with more of them.”

Viewers can catch Segel in season 2 of the Apple+ TV show on Oct. 16, 2024.