The celebrated R&B singer died after surgery in Coral Gables, Fla.

The actor got emotional as he visited what was left of his home following the Palisades Fire

The singer previously revealed that most of her Altadena, Calif. home was lost in the Eaton Fire

The Independent’s culture team selects the most unduly hyped series ever

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The sought-after British star of ‘Triangle of Sadness’ and ‘The Iron Claw’ speaks to Adam White about shooting graphic BDSM scenes with Nicole Kidman in his provocative new thriller, privilege in the acting industry, and why he’d hate for his looks to be his ‘sole currency’

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Former Oregon Ducks wide receiver Ryan Pellum was arrested on Wednesday, Jan. 8

Officials in Los Angeles previously blamed "tremendous demand" for fire hydrants running dry amid the devastating fires

While the best players in the NFL are millionaires many times over, it’s not as easy for the rest of the league.

The NFL minimum salary for rookies was $795,000 in 2024, representing the smallest payday of any of the league’s nearly 1,700 active players who stay signed all year. It sounds lucrative, but as the wife of former NFL player Chad Hansen explained, life in the league isn’t always as opulent as it seems.

In a December video posted to TikTok, Bryce Watts Hansen debunked the misconception that everyone in the NFL is a millionaire.

Chad, now 29, spent five years in the NFL, bouncing between the New York Jets New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos New Orleans Saints, Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons.

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“He was on eight different NFL teams,” Watts Hansen said in the video. “That means eight different contracts are being signed and broken.”

She acknowledged that even at its worst, players still make considerable money, but it also comes with expenses many don’t consider — including Watts Hansen until she was confronted with the realities of having to constantly relocate.

“I know how to get a flight, move all our stuff. It’s kind of just like a cost that you have to eat.” she continued. “It’s just, like, all these little things that you can like have to play out in your head.”

The “NFLadies” podcast host added that at one point, she and her husband were paying rent in three different cities because of the unpredictable nature of his job. And for the month and a half that the wide receiver was a member of the Falcons, they paid $10,000 to move to Atlanta.

Watts Hansen also admitted to previously believing that all players were millionaires, but that’s not the reality for those who are constantly signed and then cut.

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“That would have been really great if that was the case, if we were one team and all that stuff,” she explained. “But you know, that’s just not the reality for everybody.”

“[Chad] signed a contract. Then a couple months later you get nothing, especially if you sign at the beginning of the offseason and then you’re cut during the offseason,” she added. “You’re not seeing any of that money because you haven’t played again and again, you haven’t gone to practice.”

Players also must account for the risky nature of their job. Watts Hansen said that the couple had to spend a considerable amount on doctors appointments, just another one of those “weird little things here and there.”

And even for players who have more stable careers, the money doesn’t go as far as some might think. The average NFL player only lasts three to four years in the league before being forced into retirement with no other professional experience. Even a six- or seven-figure salary in those few years won’t last for life.

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Vince McMahon was the CEO and Chairman of the Board at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for decades before “voluntarily” stepping down.

McMahon confirmed in June 2022 that he was resigning from his post while the company investigated misconduct claims against him.

“I have pledged my complete cooperation to the investigation by the Special Committee, and I will do everything possible to support the investigation,” he said in a statement at the time. “I have also pledged to accept the findings and outcome of the investigation, whatever they are.”

Several hours later, McMahon opened SmackDown Live with great fanfare. “It is a privilege as always to stand before you here tonight, the WWE universe,” he said during the June 17, 2022, broadcast. “I’m here simply to remind you of the four words we just saw in what we call our WWE signature. Those four words are: then, now, forever, and the most important word is together. Welcome to SmackDown!”

Hollywood's Sexual Misconduct Scandals

Amid McMahon’s exit from the WWE executive suite, federal law enforcement officials have continued investigating the allegations. The former pro athlete has not yet been charged with a crime.

Nearly two years later, McMahon faced a second misconduct scandal when a former WWE employee accused him of sexual assault, trafficking and abuse in a January 2024 lawsuit. He denied all claims before resigning from WWE’s parent company, TKO Group.

Keep reading for a breakdown of McMahon’s misconduct scandal:

What Was Vince McMahon Accused of?

Days before McMahon stepped down from his WWE position, the Wall Street Journal reported that he paid a $3 million settlement to a former employee after an alleged affair. He has not publicly addressed the allegations.

In January 2024, former WWE staffer Janel Grant accused McMahon of sexual assault, trafficking and abuse in a lawsuit.

How Did Vince McMahon React to the Scandal?

McMahon left his position as CEO and Chairman of the board in June 2022, pledging in a statement to cooperate with the ongoing investigation and “accept the findings and outcome.” He ultimately returned as a board member six months later in January 2023, agreeing to reimburse WWE for any expenses pertaining to the investigation. According to an SEC statement the following August, McMahon has since paid approximately $17.4 million to cover the costs.

Regarding the 2024 lawsuit, McMahon vehemently denied all claims.

“This lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth. He will vigorously defend himself,” a spokesperson for McMahon told Us Weekly in a statement.

Who Replaced Vince McMahon as the CEO of WWE?

McMahon’s daughter, Stephanie McMahon, was appointed interim CEO and Chairwoman in her father’s absence.

“I love this company and am committed to working with the Independent Directors to strengthen our culture and our Company; it is extremely important to me that we have a safe and collaborative workplace,” Stephanie said in a statement at the time. “I have committed to doing everything in my power to help the Special Committee complete its work, including marshaling the cooperation of the entire company to assist in the completion of the investigation and to implement its findings.”

WWE's Stephanie McMahon Resigns From Co-CEO Position: See Her Family Guide

Is Vince McMahon Still Involved in WWE Operations?

Chief Creative Officer Triple H (real name Paul Levesque), who is married to Stephanie, revealed during an August 2023 press conference for WWE’s Summer Slam that Vince is not currently working with the WWE creative team.

“As far as contributions, I would just say this. The reason WWE is what it is … you could make an argument — a very valid one — that without Vince and his vision for this business, maybe it wouldn’t be here anymore,” Triple H said at the time. “There was some things at that time, back in the day, that were very popular … that just disappeared off the face of the planet. Vision of what he did changed the business, changed all of it for 50 years. Incredible run of success. No greater mind in the business.”

He continued: “In this point in time, if all of us didn’t look at moments in time for counsel from him on thoughts or ideas or if we had a question to go to him and ask, we’d be silly not to. It’s sitting next to somebody that knows more about this, or has forgotten more about this, than you’ll ever know, and to not utilize that in some aspect. But is he day-to-day? No. Is he in it all the time? No. If anybody has, he’s earned that right to be able to do that.”

Vince formally resigned from his position as executive chairman of the TKO Group, which is the parent company of WWE, in January 2024.

“Out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all of the employees and Superstars who helped make WWE into the global leader it is today, I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effective immediately,” he said in a statement shared with Us. “I stand by my prior statement that Ms. Grant’s lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth. I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name.”

Has Vince McMahon Cooperated With the Federal Investigation?

Several days before Triple H’s comments about the lack of Vince’s day-to-day involvement in the media brand, the SEC executed a search warrant and issued a subpoena to both Vince and the WWE. According to CNN, U.S. federal agents requested copies of certain documents. Vince has not addressed the warrant or subpoena.

How Did the Hush Money Payments Get Settled?

In January 2024, McMahon agreed to pay a $400,000 civil penalty while reimbursing WWE $1.3 million. McMahon was not forced to admit or deny the SEC’s findings.

McMahon released a statement via X shortly after the settlement was announced. 

“The case is closed,” McMahon wrote. “Today ends nearly three years of investigation by different governmental agencies. There has been a great deal of speculation about what exactly the government was investigating and what the outcome would be. As today’s resolution shows, much of that speculation was misguided and misleading.”

He continued, “In the end, there was never anything more to this than minor accounting errors with regard to some personal payments that I made several years ago while I was CEO of WWE. I’m thrilled that I can now put all this behind me.”

McMahon’s statement is a bit of a misnomer, however, as Grant’s civil suit will still move forward in the wake of the settlement.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Rolling in the dough! Reality TV shows can be grueling, awkward and time-consuming, but for many contestants, it’s more than worth it based on the prize money they can win at the end.

Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio, who has won seven seasons of MTV’s The Challenge, has taken home more than $1.2 million in winnings over the years. When it comes to an individual season win, The Challenge, has ranged in what the top competitor takes home, with the grand prize totaling $900,000, split between two people for 2021’s The Challenge: Double Agents. For its milestone 40th season, The Challenge: Battle of the Eras upped the prize to $1 million.

Baking shows also have a wide variety of seed money, with some series only giving a cake stand to the champion and others awarding the top chef a restaurant job and salary. Talent competitions, however, have the most inconsistencies with regard to prizes.

For years, The Voice coaches have been vocal about how the winners of the singing competition don’t appear to get the proper support from the record label that signs them as part of their winner’s compensation package.

“We work with these artists and give them this tremendous workshop and get them to the end of the show, and I think the work that we do on the show is amazing,” former coach Adam Levine told reporters at a press conference for The Voice‘s season finale in December 2017. “We give these guys this incredible platform and this really rare thing, a lot of exposure and airtime. Once we pass the torch, it is the record label that completely destroys that.”

Scroll down to see the reality show prize numbers from worst to best:

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The Weeknd’s sixth album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, may be the last that he releases under his stage name.

The singer, whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, said he is considering retiring the persona that has helped define his music and acting career after the album’s January 25 release.

The Weeknd, 34, opened up about the next chapter of his life in a cover story for Variety published on Friday, January 10.

“It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for. I feel like it comes with so much,” he explained. “You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more No. 1s. It never ends until you end it.”

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That thinking came in part from an onstage incident at SoFi Stadium during his After Hours Til Dawn tour in 2022. The Weeknd found his voice breaking at the beginning of his show and could not recover. He eventually had to offer the audience refunds and promise a rescheduled date.

“Part of me actually was thinking, ‘You lost your voice because it’s done; you said what you had to say. Don’t overstay at the party — you can end it now and live a happy life,’” he continued. “You know? Put the bow on it: Hurry Up Tomorrow. Now we’re here. When is the right time to leave, if not at your peak? Once you understand who I am too much, then it’s time to pivot.”

That’s not to say The Weeknd is quitting music. Though he has also delved deeper into acting, including in the accompanying Hurry Up Tomorrow film, which also stars Jenna Ortega, he admitted that music will probably always be a part of his life.

“I don’t think I can stop doing that. But everything needs to feel like a challenge,” he said. “And for me right now, The Weeknd, whatever that is, it’s been mastered. No one’s gonna do The Weeknd better than me, and I’m not gonna do it better than what it is right now. I think I’ve overcome every challenge as this persona, and that’s why I’m really excited about this film, because I love this challenge.”

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The Weeknd isn’t out to satisfy anyone else. For example, he admitted it was “unfortunate” that his short-lived HBO show, The Idol, was met with so much criticism, but that’s not why he did it. It was about his expression as an artist. It’s why he’s looking forward to his next challenge, whatever it may be.

“I just want to know what comes after,” he said. “I want to know what tomorrow looks like.”

There’s no shortage of doctor shows in Hollywood but HBO’s The Pitt has a fresh take on the traditional hospital drama.

Noah Wyle (of ER fame) returned to the emergency room as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, who is easily the best doctor on shift. As emergency department chief, Robby’s goal is to keep the ER running smoothly, but the first season takes place on a particularly hard day — the five-year death anniversary of former boss Montgomery Adamson who died of COVID-19. (Yes, we said first season. Each episode chronicles one hour of Robby’s 15-hour shift.)

The first two episodes — which premiered via HBO on January 9 — also introduced viewers to some other faces in the ER, including resident Dr. Frank Langdon played by newcomer Patrick Ball.

Not much is known about Dr. Langdon thus far other than the fact that he’s full of sass and recently got a dog for his 4-year-old, much to his coworker’s chagrin. But with each passing episode more will (hopefully) be revealed.

For now, here’s everything Us knows about the cute new star with the glimmering blue eyes. Keep scrolling for five things to know about the actor:

1. He’s an Ivy League Graduate

Ball graduated from the David Geffen School of Drama (a graduate school) at Yale in May 2022, according to his Instagram account. “We out,” he captioned an Instagram post he shared at the time.

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2. He Appeared on an Episode of ‘Law and Order’

Just like every up-and-coming star, Ball appeared on an episode of Law & Order in January 2023. “Officially a member of the Dick Wolf cinematic universe,” he wrote via Instagram at the time.

The episode, titled “Almost Famous,” starred Ball as Jason Wheeler, a social media influencer and manager who ends up taking a plea deal after the death of another character occurs in the episode.

3. He’s Also a Stage Actor

Other than his onscreen roles, Ball has taken part in multiple stage shows over the years with various theatre companies. His Instagram shows him appearing in Love’s Labor’s Lost, The XIXth, The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest, In His Hands, All My Sons and more.

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4. He’s From North Carolina

According to his Instagram, Ball is from North Carolina where he often returns to spend time with his family.

5. He’s Not Single

The actor celebrated his one-year anniversary with Elysia Roorbach in October 2024.

Before finding themselves at the epicenter of the college football world, Ryan Day and his wife, Nina, were just two kids playing tee-ball in Manchester, New Hampshire. 

Day, 45, is now the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and Nina, whom he married in June 2005, recently reflected on their time coming of age together in the Northeast. 

In an August 2024 interview with Columbus’ WBNS 10TV, Nina said she and Ryan grew up in Manchester “about a mile-and-a-half away from each other.” They went to the same elementary school, middle school and high school and college, with both Ryan and Nina attending the University of New Hampshire, where Ryan was the quarterback on the football team. 

“There was a note we saved — I think I was in 7th grade — that I wrote and I said I was going to marry Ryan,” Nina said. “We’ve always been best friends.”

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Nina even pulled out a photo from 1985 when they were on the same youth tee-ball team. “This is Ryan, this is my twin sister, Kelly, and that’s me,” she said while pointing out the threesome.

Before Ryan was named head coach at Ohio State in 2018, his coaching career took him and his growing family — he and Nina are parents to son RJ and daughters Grace and Nia — all across the country, from collegiate stops at schools like Boston College and Temple, to NFL coaching jobs with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. 

“Within a 15 year span, we moved 11 times,” Nina told WBNS. “In that time, we had 3 children. So, it was a lot. From the year we got married to probably when we got to Ohio State, every year or every two years we were moving. It was very unstable for a long time.”

For a full timeline of Ryan and Nina’s relationship, keep reading.

2005

Ryan and Nina got married while he was working as a graduate assistant at the University of Florida. 

“We dated off-and-on and then once we graduated college, we just got back together and the rest is history,” Nina told WBNS.

She added, “There was always a comfort level with him. We’re still best friends. I think that’s the best way a marriage can be. You’re with your best friend every day.”

2009

The couple welcomed their first baby, son Ryan Jr. (RJ, for short), during Ryan’s time as wide receivers coach at Boston College. 

Nina admitted that being a coach’s son wasn’t always easy for her son growing up. 

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“From 1st to 5th grade, he started a school in one state and ended in another school in another state,” she told WBNS. “He was in seven different elementary schools.”

She added, “But it’s made him so much more resilient.”

RJ is busy following in father’s footsteps as a quarterback at DeSales High School in Columbus, Ohio. 

2011

Ryan and Nina welcomed their first daughter, Grace, while Day was still working at Boston College. 

2014

The couple welcomed their third child, daughter Nia, after Day had returned to Boston College as the school’s offensive coordinator following one season as the offensive coordinator at Temple University. 

2020

Ryan lived separately from Nina and his three kids for three months during the COVID-impacted college football season to minimize the threat of contagion. 

“It hasn’t been easy,” Nina told The Columbus Dispatch in January 2021. “Most of my life I could plan things and look ahead to the next week or the next three or four games. This year we’ve just literally lived hour by hour. I mean, every hour something comes up, and I hold my breath every time I see my husband’s name on my phone because I think, ‘Oh, goodness. Now what?’”

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Nina candidly admitted it was even more difficult to have her husband in the house after the Big Ten suspended the start of its season in the wake of the pandemic. 

“Those were very difficult weeks,” Nina said. “Even though he was home for the first day of school for the first time ever, and even though he could make the kids’ soccer and football games on the weekends and pick them up from school, it was a huge void. And it was extremely difficult to be around Ryan those weeks.”

2023

Before the start of his fifth full season as the head coach at Ohio State, Ryan shared a photo via Instagram of his family coming home from vacation side-by-side with a picture from the same location, four years prior.  

“Time flies,” Ryan wrote. “1st Pic: Winter of 2019 before first season as HC. 2nd Pic: Today on our way back to Columbus. 5th season right around the corner! Stronger than ever. Go Bucks!!”

2025

Nina and Grace were photographed celebrating with Ryan on the field after Ohio State defeated the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl. 

Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager formed a strong bond both on and off the small screen.

Kotb and Bush Hager joined NBC’s Today in 2007 and 2009, respectively, and went on to cohost the show’s fourth hour together following Kathie Lee Gifford’s 2019 exit. For over five years, the duo made fans laugh and cry while interviewing some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, trying internet hacks, playing games and opening up about their personal ups and downs.

During a October 2021 episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna, Bush Hager credited Kotb with helping her get her big break. “I was here for years doing a lot of different things, and I worked really hard. And I had producers say, ‘Well, you’re a correspondent. That’s where you are,’ and that was good. That was what I wanted to be. I wanted to tell stories,” she tearfully shared. “And you asked me to fill in with you, and I’ll never forget it.”

Bush Hager shed more tears after Kotb announced she was exiting Today after nearly 30 years at NBC in September 2024. “You’re who I come to when I’m feeling joyful, when I’m feeling unsure. You are who I come to. And you believed in me first,” she said at the time.

Hoda Kotb's Most Memorable and Emotional 'Today' Show Moments

Kotb, for her part, said that her replacement was “going to have the easiest job in the world ‘cause they’re sitting next to you.”

Kotb bid farewell to the morning show in January 2025, after which Bush Hager continued to cohost the fourth hour, retitled Today With Jenna & Friends, with a lineup of celebrity guest hosts.

Scroll down to see some of Kotb and Bush Hager’s sweetest friendship moments from over the years:

Starting Their Journey

The pair kicked off their cohosting journey on an emotional note, as Kotb made Bush Hager tear up with special video messages from her family: dad and former President George W. Bush, mom Laura Bush and mother-in-law Margaret Hager.

“Is this what’s gonna happen? I’m just gonna cry all the time?” Bush Hager asked, unknowingly predicting many more tearful moments in the future. “That was so sweet.”

Support System

Bush Hager has stood by Kotb’s side through difficult times, including when Kotb announced she and her ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman had split in January 2022. “Watching you sit right here, strong, I can’t think of anybody stronger every day,” Bush Hager said on Hoda & Jenna at the time, praising Kotb for her bravery, courage and ability to “tell the truth.”

Kotb, for her part, comforted Bush Hager when she expressed guilt for not being there more for Kotb when her youngest daughter, Hope, experienced a health scare in early 2023. (Kotb shares daughters Haley and Hope with Schiffman.)

Hoda Kotb Officially Exits 'Today': Biggest Moments From Her Final Episode

“When Hoda’s daughter wasn’t feeling well, I just wasn’t there for her the way I wanted to be,” Bush Hager explained on Hoda & Jenna in May 2023. “And I didn’t know how to be, and I felt terrible about it, but I didn’t know what to do. So, I just said it. I said, ‘I feel like I haven’t been there for you.’”

Kotb called her cohosts’ comments “one of the most beautiful statements” and said her words “meant everything to her” during her tough time.

Taking the Plunge

Among Kotb and Bush Hager’s many memorable TV moments is their January 2022 polar plunge. While watching the event on air, however, Bush Hager got angry with Kotb after seeing she did not fully submerge herself in the frigid water.

“Wait, what? You didn’t dive? You just put your head [in]?” she said as Kotb laughed. “No wonder you were out so [fast]. You didn’t dive? I thought you said we were gonna dive together.”

Making Music

Kotb and Bush Hager fulfilled their dreams of releasing a Christmas song together in November 2023 with the help of viral vocal coach Cheryl Porter. One month after debuting the festive track, titled “Carefree Christmas,” they took to the Today Plaza with Porter to perform it live.

“We learned, literally, to go from non-singers to below average singers,” Kotb quipped in a December 2023 video package before their live performance, noting that the song charted on the iTunes Top 10 chart.

Playing Matchmaker

Two years after Kotb and Schiffman’s split, Bush Hager revealed that she had set her pal up on a date by texting friends to find someone outside of Kotb’s usual social circle.

“I texted three people: my sister [Barbara Bush] who [was] in graduate school; One friend that had just moved to Connecticut, so I had a whole new different world; and another friend that had just moved out of the city too,” she said of a past matching making attempt on a March 2024 episode of Hoda & Jenna. “And guess what? One of the friends had somebody. So, ask outside of your zone.”

Bush Hager also had her sights on setting Kotb up with some of Today’s celebrity guests, including Lenny Kravitz. “I know someone else who meditates — and wears leather,” she said on air in September 2024, referring to how Kotb and Kravitz each wore leather earlier on the show that morning.

Career Milestones

Kotb and Bush Hager gushed about working together while celebrating their fifth anniversary as Hoda & Jenna cohosts in April 2024. “It feels like it was yesterday, and it feels so profound to get to sit next to somebody that exudes joy no matter what you have going on,” Bush Hager said on the show. “You greet me with a smile every single day, and I know it’s not always easy. In fact, it’s probably not easy at all. But you’re here and you sit next to me.”

Kotb, meanwhile, noted that he and Bush Hager grew to share a “deep understanding of the other’s soul and purpose” over their five years of hosting together. “Every day, it’s something different, something new, something we’re learning. You’ve led me down a path because of people who you know in your life and people who are, kind of, healers who’ve helped heal me. And, I mean, it’s all meant to be. This is all meant to be,” she added.

The Biggest Moments From Hoda Kotb's Final Week at 'Today'

They rang in the milestone with several surprises, including lighting up the Empire State Building in the show’s signature pink and purple colors, getting a brand new theme song performed by Meghan Trainor and having New York City mayor Eric Adams declare April 8, 2024, as Today With Hoda & Jenna Day.

Hilarious Nicknames

On an April 2024 episode of Hoda & Jenna, Bush Hager surprised viewers when she revealed her nickname for Kotb is “Dad.” She explained at the time, “I call her Dad because she’s early to everything, always early, and she just reminds me of my father. I’m like, ‘Dad says we can’t drink too much, Talia [Parkinson-Jones],’ to our boss. ‘Dad says put the vodka down.’”

Bush Hager’s comments were followed up by a clip of the pair partying in New Orleans the night prior, after which she remarked to Kotb: “You weren’t Dad that night. Hoda took a shot. We went into a dive bar, and they were yelling ‘shots,’ and before I even knew it, Hoda was in there pounding something. And then we danced, we had the best [time].”

Birthday Surprises

Bush Hager caused Kotb to burst into tears with the meaningful present she gave her during their “Hoda’s 60th Birthday Bash” episode of Hoda & Jenna in August 2024. “I had my dad, who has started painting, paint your favorite photo of you holding your girls,” Bush Hager said as Kotb cried. Seeing her cohost’s strong reaction, Bush Hager shouted, “Oh no! It’s too much!”

Taking Trips

Kotb and Bush Hager took their show on the road multiple times in their years cohosting Today, visiting places such as Québec City, Canada, Bermuda and New Orleans, the latter of which was where Kotb lived while getting her start in local news. For their final trip in October 2024, they visited Austin, Texas, where Bush Hager went to high school and college.

During their visit down south, Bush Hager took Kotb on a tour of her old stomping grounds, including Austin High School, restaurants such as El Arroyo and Joann’s Fine Foods and Donn’s Depot piano bar and saloon.

Family Outings

Just as Kotb and Bush Hager grew close on air over the years, so have their families. In October 2024, the pair and Guthrie traveled with all of their kids to Miami to attend Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. “SWIFTIES!!!” Kotb captioned Instagram pics from the concert.

Halloween Hijinks

Despite several years of memorable Today Halloween costumes, Kotb and Bush Hager didn’t do their first joint costume until their last Halloween celebration in October 2024. Fitting with the year’s “VHS Rewind” theme, the duo dressed as the famous movie couple Jack and Rose from Titanic.

They even poked fun at Kotb’s Today departure while reenacting the film’s infamous door scene on Hoda & Jenna. “It’s been amazing, but I kind of feel like I’m outta here. I’m repotting. I’m gonna repot myself elsewhere,” Kotb joked as she pretended to sink into the sea.

Giving Signals

Though Bush Hager never got to cohost a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with Kotb, that latter began a tradition of doing a secret signal for Bush Hager during the broadcast. “Last year, Hoda and I came up with this secret symbol, which was Hoda brushing her teeth with a finger,” Bush Hager explained on a November 2024 episode of Hoda & Jenna.

For Kotb’s final parade hosting gig, the pair agreed that her signal to Bush Hager would be a dance move they created in the music in the music video for comedian Matt Rogers’ Christmas song “RockaFellaCenta.”

Bush captured the moment Kotb pulled out the dance move with Guthrie during that year’s parade via Instagram. “So thankful for my most hilarious and LOYAL @hodakotb who always comes through! With assist by my dearest @savannahguthrie!!!” she captioned the clip. “That was a (not so!) secret dance move!”

Saying Goodbye

Bush Hager expressed her sadness over Kotb’s Today departure several times before her final episode in January 2025. “When everybody’s like, ‘Oh, my God! Congratulations,’ it’s like, I feel like I’ve been dumped,” she joked on a December 2024 episode of her “Open Book with Jenna” podcast. “Not really, you know, ‘cause she’s choosing herself. I get that. But my heart is broken a little.”

During Kotb’s final Today episode, she passed her “Hoda’s Morning Boost” segment torch to Bush Hager during the show’s second hour. Later on Hoda & Jenna, Bush Hager thanked Kotb for “everything you have taught me” in a video package, stating, “I will miss you, my friend, but I love you and I’m so proud. Love always and forever, Jenna.”

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In a letter of her own, Kotb said that a “new era started” when she began cohosting the show with Bush Hager. “Six unforgettable years, uncontrollable laughter and pure friendship,” she gushed. “I can hardly even say her name without laughing out loud, but that is not the part I fell in love with. I fell in love with her tears, her vulnerable, lovable self.”

Bush Hager squeezed in some final kind words for Kotb before she drove away from 30 Rock with her kids in her minivan. “You are loved. I can’t imagine this place without you, but I don’t have to ‘cause we already have a date on your calendar. Thank you all for believing in us, and Hoda, I love you,” she stated, after which Kotb gave a shout-out to Jenna & Friends, which was beginning the following week.

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Going their own way. For some musical artists, they needed to leave their former bands to explore opportunities as a solo act.

Zayn Malik did just that in 2015. He left his longtime One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne to embark upon a solo music career, dropping his debut record the following year. The singer has had success through songs including “Pillowtalk” and “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever,” a song that he performed alongside Taylor Swift for the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack.

While speaking with British Vogue in 2018, he explained the reasoning behind his decision to leave the band. “We went from theaters to arenas to stadiums — there was never any sort of bridge between. Just boom, boom, boom,” he told the magazine at the time. “I guess that kind of progression to any mind — but especially when you’re 17, 18 — it kind of affects you a little bit.”

Malik added, “People take it different ways — especially when there are five different personalities. The relationships had broken apart.”

Despite fan hopes of a 1D reunion, the group did not reunite. Tragically, the remaining four members were next seen all together at Payne’s funeral in November 2024. (Payne died at age 31 one month prior after falling from a third-story hotel balcony in Argentina.)

Scroll down to see the many stars who have left their groups over the years.

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