Kotb left the ‘Today’ show in January to spend more time with her family

From Left: Hoda Kotb and Kelly Clarkson in 2024.Credit : Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty

Hoda Kotb is setting the record straight.

After leaving the Today show in January, the mother of two returned to the NBC morning show to discuss her new wellness venture, Joy 101, on Wednesday, May 28. While Kotb, 60, was in Studio 1A, her Today replacement, Craig Melvin, didn’t pass up the opportunity to question her about some recent rumors.

Referencing recent reports that Kotb was set to replace Kelly Clarkson on her self-titled daytime talk show, Melvin, 46, asked his former colleague if there was truth to the story.

“Do y’all think — I want to ask y’all a real question — do you think if I ever came back to TV, do you know where the only place I would ever come back to is?” Kotb then asked her former co-anchors. “Right here. This is the spot.”

From Left: Hoda Kotb and Kelly Clarkson on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ in 2024.Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty

In direct response to the rumors, Kotb said, “Delete, not true.”

Savannah Guthrie teased her pal, saying, “I thought you were because I know you’ve been playing your guitar and singing a lot lately, and I thought you were ready for some Hodaoke,” referencing Clarkson’s popular “Kellyoke” segment.

But Kotb assured her that wasn’t the case. While noting that she will be on Clarkson’s show next week, she said it will be “just for fun.”

Although she’s not returning to TV, Kotb does have a new business venture — her wellness company, which includes an app, live events and a subscription newsletter centering around themes of joy, mindfulness, meditation and wellness.

“I’m starting a new business,” Kotb shared on Today. “I’m putting all my time and effort into what I hope will make people feel better, which was my favorite part of the show anyway. How can we lift people up? How can we lighten the load? What can we do?”

From Left: Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on ‘Today with Hoda & Jenna’ in January 2025.Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

In her exclusive cover story with PEOPLE, Kotb revealed that she stepped down as co-host after her daughter, Hope, 6, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2023.

As a result, being totally available for her daughter became non-negotiable. The news personality said, “I really wanted to and needed to be here to watch over her. So, whenever she needs anything, and it can happen at night, multiple times, I’m up — I’m up up up.”

She also talked about her new approach to life, which includes more time spent with her daughters, including Haley, 8. “It’s really cool to just realize that there’s so much more to life,” Kotb said. “I wasn’t able to bear witness to my kids’ daily lives because of what I was doing. I got to see Haley sing ‘What a Wonderful World’ at 9:15 a.m. — I would have missed that. I used to think life was the big things, but it really is all the stuff that happens in between.”