Donna Farizan is ready to start her new chapter in her career.
The longtime Today contributor announced she’s leaving Jenna & Friends after 12 years. Cohosts Savannah Guthrie and Jenna Bush Hager helped the 34-year-old reveal the “bittersweet news” of her exit during the morning news show’s Sept. 8 episode.
As Savannah shared during the telecast, “Donna, of all the things we love about you, we love that you’re always up for an adventure. And you do have some news for us, don’t you?”
Donna then broke the news that she made the difficult decision to say goodbye to her NBC family.
“A year ago, I launched a series called ‘Own Your Power’ where I challenged myself to speak my truth,” the journalist shared with viewers. “And now, after 12 years with Today, I’m challenging myself to spread my wings beyond the show to see what new and exciting await me professionally.”
Donna then read a letter she wrote to herself explaining why she’s ready to tackle new professional challenges.
“Dear Donna, the time has come to start my next chapter,” the George Washington University alum said. “The unknown can be scary, but it’s also exhilarating, so let’s embrace it. Since I started college and had my heart set on television, I didn’t know where the road would lead, but I knew to follow my curiosity and spark.”
Reflecting on over a decade working for Today‘s fourth hour, Donna noted, “I paved the way for the show to try new mediums, learn to tell stories in my own style, and made new friends along the way. Discomfort is usually a catalyst for growth. So, I shouldn’t be afraid to jump, because it’s only the part before I take the jump that I fear. But the bigger the leap, the bigger the shift in perspective and the more resilient I become.”
“Everywhere I turn surrounding the perimeter of 30 Rock, I’m reminded of ways in which I’ve pushed myself outside of my comfort zone,” she continued. “Now it’s time to do that again. Because that’s how you grow—and I yearn to grow.”
While Donna admitted she isn’t sure what her next move will be, she said she’s “so grateful to have gone to the school of Kathie Lee Gifford, the school of Hoda Kotb, and the school of Jenna Bush Hager, because now, it’s time for me, Donna Farizan, to create my own map.”
Donna concluded her emotional message by thanking “the remarkable viewers who tune in everyday and motivate all of us to own our power,” and noting this isn’t a forever goodbye.
“Success is a team sport, and this is the team I’ve built,” she said. “So, I’ll take these lessons with me, spread my wings, and remind myself that I can always fly back to say hello. This road will be fulfilling because I get to share in it with you, our viewers. I hope you’ll follow along on my socials as I continue to bring both light and depth, and entertain with value; so please join me on my journey, and I’ll be a part of yours.”
Keep reading for a closer look at the Today show family.
Sheinelle Jones
The cohost of the third hour of Today shares son Kayin as well as twins Uche and Clara with her late husband Uche Ojeh, who passed away in May 2025 after a courageous battle with brain cancer.
“With all three of my children, I try to show them that they’re ALL a team, and they have to take care of each other,” Sheinelle wrote in a 2015 essay for Today. “At the same time, I’m learning that they each like to know they’re special on their own.”
Craig Melvin
Three years after the anchor married fellow broadcaster Lindsay Czarniak in 2011, he earned his most cherished title yet: father.
And now, he seizes every opportunity to gush about their son Delano and daughter Sybil.
“When I wake up in the morning,” Melvin said to his son during a May 2024 episode of Today, “part of the reason I work so hard is for you and your sister.”
Jenna Bush Hager
The Today with Jenna & Friends cohost and her husband Henry Hager are proud parents to kids Mila, Poppy and Hal.
As she put it during a March 2025 episode of the morning show, “I’m pretty sure I’ve come to terms that three, even though it’s an imperfect number, it’s the perfect number for our household.”
Hoda Kotb
“Another Halloween in the books,” wrote the former host as she celebrated the day with her daughter Haley Joy.
Lester Holt
The former NBC Nightly News anchor shares sons Stefan Holt and Cameron Holt with his wife Carol Hagen.
But more recently, he became a proud “granddude” to three grandchildren: Henry, Samuel and James.
“When my daughter-in-law was pregnant with her first baby … she said, ‘Well, what do you guys want to be called?’” Holt said on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2021. “I said, ‘I think I want to be ‘Granddude’ because ‘grand,’ it bows to the fact that I’m older. But ‘dude’ says, ‘I still got a little bit. I still got a little,’ you know?”
Carson Daly
The anchor and his wife Siri Pinter announced the happy news when they welcomed their fourth child, Goldie Patricia Daly!
Kathie Lee
Hoda’s former co-host is a loving mommy to her own two children, Cassidy Gifford and Cody Gifford, with her late husband, Frank Gifford.
Savannah Guthrie
The TV personality is a mommy to two little ones, Vale Guthrie Feldman and Charles Max Feldman, with her husband Mike Feldman. She welcomed Charles into the world in December 2016.
Al Roker
The anchor and his wife, Deborah Roberts, are parents to Leila Roker and Nicholas Albert Roker.
Willie Geist
The anchor of Sunday Today has been married to his wife, Christina, since 2003. They’re parents to two children, George William Geist and Lucie Joy Geist.
(E! and Today are both part of the NBCUniversal family)
