Mel Gibson opened up about his life and career in a wide-ranging two-hour interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, including how he creates his film roles.
“Sure, I’ve planned a lot of murders in my life — we all have,” Gibson, 69, said on the Thursday, January 9, episode of the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, while discussing his upcoming project The Resurrection Of The Christ and how he develops story lines and characters. “In your head, you plan them and you think, ‘Well, that’s not a very good idea, but I think I can get away with it.’”
“I actually spent a long time in my animal brain, which is a very horrible place to be,” Gibson said. “[Where] you’re in ‘fight or flight’ all the time, you don’t even sleep. It’s really not a good place to be and if anybody looks at you the wrong way, you want to bite ‘em — and sometimes you say and do things that are socially unacceptable.”
The actor revealed that he even underwent a “brain scan” to understand his perspective.
“[The neurologist] looked at my brain and he was like, he opens the file … and he goes, ‘Are you OK?’” Gibson recalled. “He sat next to me, but very slowly and cautiously, and said, ‘No, you’re not. You’ve got the worst case of PTSD I have ever seen.’”
Gibson then “started to well up” over the doctor’s admission.
“He had a very miraculous and great remedy for it, which was to eat a bunch of fish oil, vitamin B complex and get into a hyperbaric chamber for 40 sessions — but make sure you do at least two or three a week,” he said. “It fixed my head, really. It got me out of that wacky place.”
After working with the doctor, Gibson found that he was less irritable — his brain trauma was the result of past injuries while playing rugby growing up — and eventually came to the realization that he didn’t want to follow through on any of his apparent murder plots.
“When I kill somebody, you know, it’s terrible and it’s not socially acceptable,” Gibson said. “Plus, I don’t want to go to prison.”
Gibson is now focused on his acting career, asserting to Rogan, 57, that he wants to tell a story about “good and evil.”
“It’s the resurrection story, but it’s not linear because it’s hard to understand,” he explained. “It’s got be put in a framework where you answer a few other questions as well and you have to juxtapose the event itself against everything itself so that it makes some kind of sense in a bigger picture, which is a hard thing to do.”
Hoda Kotb officially closed her Today show chapter on Friday, January 10. The longtime anchor wrapped up her nearly 30 years on NBC with an emotional farewell to the iconic morning show, and there were a few special guests on hand to send her off. Kotb, 60, got emotional throughout the broadcast as she was honored by fellow Today hosts past and present — from Savannah Guthrie to Kathie Lee Gifford. “She’s sunshine in a bottle,” Gifford, 71, gushed over her former cohost before sharing a toast to Kotb. “May you walk into the most joyful, prosperous, purposeful time in your life with those precious daughters that I watched come into your life. What a blessing that was. I’ll never forget it.” Kotb previously announced in September 2024 that she would be leaving the Today show, and Friday’s episode marked the end of a week-long “Hoda-bration” in her honor. Scroll below for more of Us Weekly’s top stories:
Tom Holland’s father confirmed the actor’s engagement to Zendaya in a recent blog post, revealing that Holland was “very well-prepared” to propose.
Mandy Moore explained why she shared a GoFundMe launched to help her brother-in-law and his pregnant wife, who “lost their home and everything they own” in the Los Angeles wildfires.
HGTV star Christina Haack exclusively opened up to Us about whether she wants to get married again following her divorce from third husband Joshua Hall.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are lending a helping hand amid the devastation in L.A. by opening their California home to friends and donating essential items.
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If you’re anything like Us, the new year is off to a busy start. Along with returning to work, we’re tackling our resolutions right along with it. In some cases that means running from leading a business meeting to running to an afternoon workout class and heading right back to the office. No matter how your calendar looks this 2025, you should put your best foot forward with stylish footwear. Right now, Zappos is hosting a winter clearance sale, offering up to 70% off!
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Kelly Stafford came through in the clutch for Los Angeles Rams fans trying to see their team in the playoffs.
After the Rams home playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings scheduled for Monday, January 13 was relocated to Glendale, Arizona due to the wildfires in southern California, fans called on the organization to provide transportation for season ticket holders who had been left stranded.
That’s when one of them received a DM via Instagram from Stafford, the wife of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
“I will gladly rent a charter bus for fans! There and back! Lemme know!” Kelly messaged a Rams superfan named Robert.
Robert responded, “Omg no way?! We would appreciate that so much! We just want to be there!!!!! Praying for your safety .”
Courtesy of Robert Balderrama/Instagram
The plan was quickly set in motion, with Kelly offering to charter a second bus after demand was so high.
“We all love and appreciate the Staffords for everything they do for the Ramily,” Robert posted via his Instagram Story.
Kelly indicated she’d be in attendance at the game in Arizona with her four daughters, as well. Via her Instagram Story, she shared an old video of her girls — twins Sawyer and Chandler, 7, Hunter, 6, and Tyler, 4 — cheering on Matthew at the Rams game in Glendale against the Arizona Cardinals last year.
“Heading back there soon with these cuties ,” Kelly posted.
Kelly Stafford and Matthew Stafford with their daughters.Harry How/Getty Images
During a press conference on Thursday, January 9, before the game against the Vikings had officially been relocated, Matthew — who noted the wildfires had briefly knocked out the power at his family’s home — addressed the devastation impacting his community.
“It’s a tough thing to watch on the news, to be around, to see,” Matthew told reporters. “Driving around seeing all that, it’s just really sad to see what’s going on. Obviously, a bunch of people doing everything they possibly can to try and get things under control and get people back to normal as quickly as possible.”
Matthew added, “Every time we suit up, we’re the Los Angeles Rams. We play for the people in this community. The people in this community support us. This week will be another example of that, obviously. Hopefully a great escape for people who have been going through a lot of tough times.”
The Rams-Vikings Wild Card playoff game kicks off from Glendale, Arizona’s State Farm Stadium on Monday, January 13 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Check the LAFD website for local wildfire alerts and click here for resources on how to help those affected.
“This last Sunday, my father passed away,” Katie, 37, wrote via Instagram on Friday, January 10. “Since I have been met with a variety of emotions, numbness, peace, complete udder sadness and even at times guilt. My dad was everyone’s favorite, he was so charming, made everyone feel welcome and comfortable. We shared the love of dad jokes and he had an endless supply.”
While paying tribute to her beloved family member, Katie shared photos from recent vacations including a snowy trip to Salt Lake City, Utah.
“He was always so supportive of my brothers and I growing up and as adults championed our endeavors,” she wrote. “I cannot smell Irish spring without immediately thinking about him, how the scent almost covered up the smell of wheel grease from his job. It’s a core memory that I have always held and hold closer now.”
Soon after sharing her personal news, the “Disrespectfully” podcast host received well wishes from her Bravo family.
“Sending you love ,” The Valley’s Janet Caperna wrote in the comments section. Summer House’s Amanda Batula added, “So sorry for your loss Katie .”
Earlier in the week, Katie’s brother, Rocky Maloney, also paid tribute to his father via Instagram, calling him “such an amazing person, dad and friend.”
Katie MaloneyGreg Doherty/Getty Images for DIRECTV
“Dad, I will think about you everyday,” he wrote. “I will always look at my phone waiting for our daily phone call to talk sports.”
As the Maloney family continues their grieving process, Katie is focused on all the positive memories she made with her father away from any camera crews.
“Dad, I love you forever, thank you for the million laughs, for the father-daughter dances throughout life and for the love you gave us,” she said. “I feel like I am a stranger to grief. As much as it has touched my life and so many I love. It’s not something I have become comfortable or well acquainted with.”
Katie is an original cast member of Vanderpump Rules and documented her life in West Hollywood for 11 seasons.
Although Bravo announced in November 2024 that the show would be revamping for season 12 with a brand-new cast, the reality star has her hands full with a variety of projects including her Something About Her sandwich shop with costar Ariana Madix.
“It’s a mixed bag. But I wouldn’t change a thing,” Katie shared via her Instagram Story after the news was announced. “Thank you for the memories and the love the last 11 years.”
Matt Lauer, Hoda Kotb, Ann Curry.Noam Galai/WireImage ; Nathan Congleton/NBC ; George Lange
Several Today show hosts have come and gone from the NBC morning show over the years — both on good and bad terms.
Hoda Kotb, for her part, surprised fans in September 2024 with news that she would be leaving Today after nearly 30 years at NBC. “I just turned 60, and it was such a monumental moment for me when I turned 60 years old because I started thinking about that decade, like, what does that decade mean? What does it hold? What’s it gonna have for me?” she tearfully announced at the time. “And I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new.”
Kotb recalled how celebrating her 60th birthday on the show the month prior helped her realize it was time to step back from Today. “I remembered standing outside, looking at this beautiful bunch of people with all these gorgeous signs, and I thought, ‘This is what the top of the wave feels like for me,’ and I thought, ‘It can’t get better,’” she explained. “And [I] decided this is the right time for me to, kind of, move on.
Additionally, Kotb said wanting to spend more time with her daughters, Haley and Hope, whom she shares with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman, played a big role in her decision. “I was thinking they deserve a bigger piece of my time, the pie that I have. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time,” she stated. “And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”
Kotb officially bid farewell to Today on January 10, 2025.
Scroll down to see more of the Today show’s most dramatic host exits:
Deborah Norville
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Norville replaced longtime host Jane Pauley on Today in 1990. After one year on the series, she exited the show while on maternity leave due to criticism and a decline in ratings.
“I was pushed out while on maternity leave, having just given birth to my first child. It was personally devastating to, in less than two years, go from ‘NBC’s fastest-rising star’ to a pariah in television. It was awful,” she recalled in a June 2012 column for The Hollywood Reporter. “But, just as an earthquake forces you to check the foundation of your home, having my career shatter forced me to reevaluate everything.”
She continued: “The depression I battled pushed me to investigate the power of the mind and led to my writing a number of books grounded in positive psychology, as I rebuilt my career first at ABC Radio, then CBS News and Inside Edition.”
Norville has served as the anchor of Inside Edition since 1995.
Katie Couric
James Devaney/WireImage
Couric took over Norville’s hosting spot in 1991 and remained on Today through 2006. She recalled her decision to leave the show in her 2021 memoir, Going There, writing, “By 2005, I was at a crossroads. I loved the Today show, but after 15 years, I was getting restless. I longed to be respected for my journalistic chops, and although I’d done many serious interviews in the morning, the fun stuff, which I had a blast doing … [that] was what people remembered. I felt like the show was getting softer, the hard news interviews getting shorter, the segments getting more sensational.”
Couric went on to anchor CBS Evening News, becoming the first solo woman to anchor a nightly news broadcast. She left the role after five years, telling Today in October 2021 that she didn’t think “the country was ready for a female anchor.” She added: “Maybe they weren’t just ready for me as a female anchor because of their perceptions of me. But I really went there to say a woman can do this job with confidence and competence, and that’s really what motivated my decision.”
Ann Curry
William D. Bird/Getty Images
Curry, who served as Matt Lauer’s coanchor for one year, unexpectedly announced on-air in 2012 that she was leaving the show. At the time, rumors spread that the network was not pleased with her lack of chemistry with Lauer, resulting in lower ratings.
“I still don’t really understand,” Curry told Elle of her Today exit in a September 2020 interview. “I know I did nothing wrong. I know I was good at my job. They say where there’s smoke, there’s fire. You can read the tea leaves. But you know, I’m a fact-based reporter, so it’s hard for me to go out there, with something so close to the vest. I don’t know. I don’t know.”
She continued: “The bottom line is that it still hurts. It honestly hurts really deeply, because I really think I did nothing wrong. But in spite of the pain of it, which still lingers, I know that I contributed to some people suffering less.”
Billy Bush
Roger Wong/INFphoto.com
Us Weekly confirmed in October 2016 that Bush had been suspended from his role as a cohost of the third hour of Today after a video was leaked that showed him making lewd comments during a conversation with Donald Trump. He officially exited the series later that month after reaching a settlement with NBC.
“I am deeply grateful for the conversations I’ve had with my daughters, and for all of the support from family, friends and colleagues,” Bush told Us in a statement at the time. “I look forward to what lies ahead.” Bush has served as the host of Extra since 2019.
Tamron Hall
Noam Galai/WireImage
News broke in February 2017 that Hall would be leaving NBC News and MSNBC. The announcement came shortly after it revealed that Megyn Kelly would be taking over the third hour of Today, which Hall cohosted with Al Roker.
“Tamron is an exceptional journalist, we valued and enjoyed her work at Today and MSNBC and hoped that she would decide to stay. We are disappointed that she has chosen to leave, but we wish her all the best,” NBCUniversal said in a statement at the time.
A source exclusively told Us that the network wasn’t “fighting that hard” to keep Hall ahead of Kelly’s Today entrance, noting that Kelly was seen as “more valuable.” A second insider later told Us that Hall was blindsided by the switch-up and was only told “minutes before going on-air” that Kelly was taking over her and Roker’s time slot.
Hall moved on from Today with her eponymous talk show in 2019.
Matt Lauer
Noam Galai/FilmMagic
Savannah Guthrie and Kotb shocked Today viewers in November 2017 by announcing Lauer had been fired from NBC as a result of sexual misconduct allegations. At the time, Variety published a report accusing the longtime anchor of sexually harassing multiple women. The allegations included sending a woman a sex toy, dropping his pants in front of another and becoming angry with a woman for not engaging in sexual relations with him, among other claims.
Lauer broke his silence on the scandal shortly after his firing. “There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions. To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry,” Guthrie read on-air in a statement on Lauer’s behalf.
His statement continued: “Repairing the damage will take a lot of time and soul-searching and I’m committed to beginning that effort. It is now my full-time job.”
Kotb was named as Lauer’s replacement in 2018. NBCUniversal released their findings from a monthslong investigation into Lauer’s actions that May, revealing that network executives did not receive any complaints about his behavior prior to November 2017 when a woman, later revealed as Brooke Nevils, filed a complaint against Lauer. Per the report, Lauer admitted to engaging in sexual activity with the woman one day later.
In Ronan Farrow’s 2019 book, Catch and Kill, Nevils accused Lauer of anally raping her in his hotel room during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Nevils claimed that she confided in former Today host Meredith Vieira about the incident and was encouraged to report it to human resources.
Lauer slammed the rape accusations in an October 2019 statement to Us, calling Nevils’ claims “categorically false” and stating that their encounter was consensual. “But within a year she was reportedly out trying to sell a book. And it appears that she also sought a monetary payment from NBC,” he added. “Now she is making outrageous and false accusations to help sell a different book and stepping into the spotlight to cause as much damage as she can.”
Hoda Kotb
Nathan Congleton/NBC
During her September 2024 departure announcement, Kotb shared that she would remain on the show until early 2025 and would not be completely parting ways with NBC. “She’s the person that everybody loves,” an NBC insider exclusively told Us at the time. “She’s the same off-camera as she is on-camera, and I think that’s what’s the hardest thing because that can’t be said for everybody.”
Calling Kotb’s exit a “huge blow” for the series, the source noted that the TV personality was “very focused” on wellness for her next career steps.
“I am starting a wellness app and company that will involve retreats and a podcast and all kinds of things that we can get together, do things that I love,” she shared on a January 2025 episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. “It’s not like going to Mexico with your girls, which is fun, but this is something that when you leave, you’ll go like, ‘Oh my gosh, I feel transformed. I feel different.’”
At the time, she noted that the app was still “in the building process” but was expected to launch in that spring.
Kotb rang in her final week of Today with a “Hoda-bration” full of surprise guests, emotional reunions and heartfelt tributes. “I’ve become who I am on this hour of this show, and you were there with me every step of the way,” she read from a “love letter” she wrote to fans on her final episode of Hoda & Jenna. “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.”
For the past five years, I’ve participated in Dry January. Well, actually, I took Dry January one step further in 2024 and decided to quit drinking altogether. I can confidently say that it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made — the benefits are truly life-changing.
While I don’t expect anyone to completely ditch alcohol (it’s a very personal decision), I do get giddy when January rolls around because of how popular Dry January has become. The thought of other people experiencing the mental clarity that comes with swapping a gin and tonic for a mocktail makes me giddy! That said, choosing not to drink isn’t easy by any means. Everyone will go through different trials on their journey, but there are things that can make the process easier.
The below items are what helped me through my first year of sobriety. Keep reading to discover informative books, relaxing mocktails and more. You’ve got this!
Whether you plan on doing a dry month or want to go longer without imbibing, it’s really valuable to find your why. Figuring out your goals when it comes to alcohol is easier said than done, but this book can help. Filled with thought-provoking prompts, this workbook forces you to get real about your relationship with alcohol and what you hope to change, while also offering tips and tricks for staying on track. You’re also more likely to follow through with your goals and aspirations if you write them down, and this book gives you designated space to do so.
My favorite beverage before I stopped drinking was rosé, and I hated the thought of cheersing with a soda on special occasions. This N/A rosé is the closest thing I’ve tasted to the real deal. It’s not too sugary sweet nor does it remind me of grape juice. Pouring myself a glass feels like a little treat, and I’m able to enjoy it even more knowing I won’t wake up in the morning with a dreaded hangover.
Once I ditched the booze, my new vice became coffee. While I enjoy espresso or a fancy latte every once in a while, I prefer to drink this mushroom alternative to coffee. It enhances my energy and focus while also improving digestion — and it actually tastes great, unlike some other options that remind me of dirt. Plus, I like that all I need to do is stir it into water or milk. I even like adding it to my pre-workout shake for an extra boost before the gym.
When I go to parties, I like having these mocktail cans on hand for a few reasons: 1. They’re pretty. 2. They taste good. 3. With the included adaptogens, I feel more at ease in social settings — sans alcohol. Sometimes I’ll sip on one before bed for better sleep, too.
When I was debating what I wanted my relationship with alcohol to be, this book opened a whole new world of possibilities. I discovered what the sober curious movement entailed, began learning about the positive changes I’d experience once I ditched the booze and ultimately realized that I could live a full life without alcohol. I consider it a must-read for anyone wanting to cut back.
Author Sarah Levy beautifully described so many of my own feelings surrounding alcohol in her memoir. Reading this book made me feel like I was reading my own story, helping me recognize that my drinking patterns weren’t the healthiest and were harming my relationships. It can feel scary cutting out something that is so ingrained in our culture, but Sarah’s vulnerability proves that it’s possible and that there’s a full technicolored life waiting for you once you put down the glass.
Hoda Kotb has shared many life milestones — both triumphant and difficult — with TV audiences for years.
Kotb notably missed several episodes of the Today show in early 2023. Her cohosts Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones announced that March that her absence was due to a “family health matter,” which Kotb later revealed involved her youngest daughter, Hope.
“[Hope] was in the ICU for a few days and in the hospital for a little more than a week,” Kotb shared during a March 2023 episode of Today. “I’m so grateful she’s home. … I was waiting for that day to come. And we are watching her closely. I’m just so happy.”
Kotb, who left Today in January 2025, coparents Hope and her eldest daughter, Haley, with her ex-fiancé, Joel Schiffman, They called it quits after eight years together in January 2022. At the time of Hope’s health scare, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that Schiffman had “been by their side.”
The insider added: “Hoda has dropped everything and focused on being there for her youngest — by her hospital bed — and taking care of anything she could need. Hope is better now and recovering at home.”
Keep scrolling to see Kotb’s ups and downs through the years:
Kotb was secretly married to Burzis Kanga for three years before things went public amid their divorce in 2008. Her former Today cohost Kathie Lee Gifford later outed Kotb’s split during a Valentine’s Day episode of the morning show — much to Kotb’s chagrin.
"I was telling her that I was married once before and I met my husband on Valentine's Day, and I got the divorce papers on Valentine's Day and it was Valentine's Day," Kotb said on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in 2018.
"We go out to the set. It's all decorated with flowers and hearts, and I go, 'Good morning! Happy Valentine's Day!' And [Kathie Lee] looks at me and she goes, 'Not for you!'" Kotb was shocked at her costar’s gall. “I go, 'What are you doing?' But I remember that grenade fell right on the table. I didn't know what to do. I was so new, I didn't know what to say. I said, 'That was makeup room talk. That wasn't for out here, because we're happy out here.’”
One year before her divorce from her ex-husband, Kotb began her Today show reign by cohosting Kathie Lee and Hodawith Gifford. The former Regis and Kathie Lee cohost was replaced by Jenna Bush Hager in 2019.
Kotb revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. Cancer and the specific types of treatment she underwent meant that freezing her eggs was “pretty close to a dead-end,” Kotb recalled to Good Housekeeping in 2022. She was devastated by the fertility news.
“I was in my room, and I just sobbed. I thought, ‘Well, that’s that, isn’t it?’ Like, you almost blame yourself. ‘Why didn’t I do this? Why didn’t I do that?’” she shared. “So I just pushed it away, because the reality seemed impossible to bear. How do you survive knowing you can’t have what you desire and what you feel like you actually physically need?”
The couple got engaged after six years together, with Kotb excitedly sharing the news via Instagram at the time. She posted Schiffman’s beachside proposal with a photo of her showing off her engagement ring while at dinner and another snap of rose petals scattered in the sand.
The parents of two called off their engagement, Kotb announced on the Today show at the time, revealing her romance with Schiffman was over after more than eight years together.
"Joel and I have had a lot of prayerful and meaningful conversations over the holidays and we decided that we're better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple, so we decided we are going to start this new year ... on our new path as loving parents to our adorable, delightful children, and as friends," she shared at the time.
Two months later, Kotb exclusively told Us that coparenting was going well. “He sees the kids,” she shared in April 2022. “He takes them to school some, and he sees them on weekends. We’ve got a really nice, easy situation. … We make sure the kids get plenty of him and plenty of me.”
When asked whether she and Schiffman remained “close friends,” Kotb replied, “Yeah, we are.”
Several months after announcing her split, Kotb told People that she can “see” herself dating someone else in the future.
“I haven’t really thought about who I would see myself with, but I do have to say something. My sister even said and asked me at one point, ‘Are (you) afraid to be by yourself?’” she recalled. “And I said to her, ‘I’m not going to be by myself.’ And I don’t know why I said it so clearly, but I actually knew that my heart is open. I have an open heart.”
Kotb praised Hope on Today upon returning to the series after her daughter’s health scare. “She's vibrant and brilliant,” she told Bush Hager. “I’m over the moon that she’s home.”
In addition to thanking the doctors and nurses who “stood by [Hope] all the way,” Kotb shared a sweet moment she had with Hope amid her recovery. “The other day ... she had in her hand two little confetti stars, and she said, 'I got two, Mom. One for me and one for you,’” Kotb recalled. “And I thought to myself, ‘Even when she's not feeling good, she's still giving everything away.’”
One year later, Kotb looked back on the scary time in an interview with People but did not give specifics about Hope’s condition. “Any parent who’s been through a scary thing with their child understands. It’s like you just can’t believe that your child’s sick,” she said in March 2024. “You can’t believe that there’s nothing you can do. You can’t believe that no matter what you do, you can’t will it away or protect her, or all the things that we’re supposed to be doing as parents. And it’s a position I’ve never found myself in.”
She went on to note that she doesn’t want Hope to be defined by her health issues. “It’s really tricky, because I don’t want Hope to get labeled,” she explained at the time. “She’s a kid who is so vibrant, and most days everything is totally fine. I don’t want people to look at her differently.”
Five months after revealing she went on her first date in two years, Kotb confirmed her relationship with her mystery man was over after three dates. “I did go on the third date, but I did kind of decide in that space — because this person who’s a lovely human being has a lot of … things that are being worked out — that I think I’m looking for more … simplicity,” she explained during an episode of “The Jamie Kern Lima Show” podcast.
She continued: “That has been tabled beautifully, like, nothing funky, all good. He’s very cute, by the way, extremely handsome. I’ll show you a picture after, but [things are] tabled for now.”
Several months after Kotb announced her plans to move out of New York City with her daughters, the family were settled in the suburbs.
“Everything changed like that. I have a whole new town and a whole new school and all the new things,” Kotb said of the move during a September 2024 episode of Hoda & Jenna. “We went for our first day of school, I carried a coffee and I had sneakers [on], and I walked my kids to school like normal people. It was awesome.”
Kotb surprised Today viewers by announcing her plans to leave the show in January 2025 after working 26 years at NBC. “I just turned 60, and it was such a monumental moment for me when I turned 60 years old because I started thinking about that decade, like, what does that decade mean? What does it hold? What’s it gonna have for me?” she tearfully shared on the morning series. “And I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new.”
Kotb noted that she came to the decision shortly after celebrating with special 60th birthday episodes one month prior. “I remembered standing outside, looking at this beautiful bunch of people with all these gorgeous signs, and I thought, ‘This is what the top of the wave feels like for me,’ and I thought, ‘It can’t get better.’ And [I] decided this is [the] right time for me to, kind of, move on,” she said.
Her kids also played a big role in her decision to step down from the show. “I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking they deserve a bigger piece of my time, the pie that I have. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time,” she noted. “And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”
Despite leaving Today, Kotb assured fans she would remain a part of the NBC family in the future.
Kotb’s final week at Today was filled with celebrity guests, emotional tributes and reunions with past guests whose lives Kotb touched over the years. Her last episode, which aired on January 10, featured appearances from Gifford, Jimmy Fallon, Gayle King, Simone Biles, Maria Shriver and Walker Hayes.
“16 years ago, I sat next to Kathie Lee and she changed my life. She chose me. And truth be told, I was scared. I’d never done anything like this before,” Kotb reflected in a “love letter” she wrote to fans during her last Hoda & Jenna episode. “I ripped off that news corset, we poured ourselves a glass of wine, and so it began.”
She recalled how cohosting with Bush Hger felt like a “new era started,” adding, “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.”
Kotb concluded her message on a heartfelt note, stating: “I’ve become who I am on this hour of this show, and you were 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.”
Her grand finale on Today ended with a clip of her and her kids riding away from the Today Plaza in her minivan.
The former reality star’s sprawling 6,788 square-foot mansion was first listed at $9.95 million through Tim Thompson of Tim Thompson Premier Realtors in August 2024. The original listing was taken down on Wednesday, January 8, and relisted that same day at a lower price point. (It was originally listed for $11 million in June 2024.)
Following a $1 million price cut, the four-bedroom, five-bathroom house is now listed at $8.9 million. The home, which she purchased for $3 million in 2020, sits on 28 private acres of land and features a barn, guest house and pool.
Cavallari revealed in October 2024 that she had moved into a new Tennessee home with her three kids, son Camden, 12, son Jaxon, 10, and daughter Saylor, 9. (The Laguna Beach alum shares her children with ex-husband Jay Cutler.)
“I am currently sitting in my half-empty kitchen, but actually there’s just boxes stacked everywhere,” she shared on her “Let’s Be Honest” podcast at the time amidst massive floor-to-ceiling windows and a lengthy wooden dining table. “Just moved into my new house a couple days ago.”
While Cavallari hasn’t shared too many details into her new abode, keep scrolling for a look inside the Nashville mansion that’s on the market:
It’s a conversation so many are having this week amidst the devastation.
According to Ashley Etheridge and Dandelion Family Counseling, it’s important to only “share just enough information.”
“If a child witnesses a fire, or the aftermath of a fire, it can be helpful to only share brief, factual, age-appropriate information,” Etheridge writes. “Children need a way understand scary or confusing news and integrate it into their brains.”
In addition to sharing what is necessary with your children, Etheridge adds that a parent should “validate” their children’s feelings.
“Validating a child’s feelings is always important. This creates safety and connection. You could reflect, ‘Learning news about a fire can be scary. My job as a parent is to keep you safe.’”
It can also be helpful to give your child purpose by helping out those in the community affected by the tragedy, Etheridge writes.
Courtesy of Jen Atkin/Instagram
“Sometimes children and individuals can feel powerless after a fire.” By making donations or bringing the fire fighters food and water can help kids “regain some sense of safety and control.”
“In chaotic or emotional times, it is critical for your child that you stay consistent with mundane routines, such as pick-up and drop-off schedules and family meals,” the IAFF reports, adding that giving children even more of your time and attention can be helpful as they cope.
“These rituals help convey a sense of normalcy to your child and send the message, ‘Even though this tragedy occurred, I am still here for you and your world is not changing.’”
And the City of Petaluma suggests encouraging kids to talk about what they are feeling.
“Let children talk about the disaster and ask questions as much as they want. Encourage children to describe what they’re feeling. Listen to what they say.”
And it’s important to stay together.
“While you look for housing and assistance, you may want to leave your children with relatives or friends. Instead, keep the family together as much as possible and make children a part of what you are doing to get the family back on its feet,” the City of Petaluma reports.
“Children get anxious, and they’ll worry that their parents won’t return.”
Check the LAFD website for local wildfire alerts and click here for resources on how to help those affected.
David Muir’s tailored wildfire ensemble was apparently short-lived.
Muir, 51, headlined the Thursday, January 9, broadcast of World News Tonight from Los Angeles, where he reported on the ongoing wildfires devastating the city. He wore a flame-retardant yellow jacket over a black T-shirt, leaving the coat unzipped and appearing to omit the now-viral clothespin he previously used to cinch the fabric.
On the Wednesday, January 8, broadcast, Muir had clipped the clothespin to the back of his safety jacket that appeared to make the fabric fit snug.
“Prayers for Los Angeles. We’ll be back out there today,” he wrote via Instagram several hours before Thursday’s programming.
While Muir hadn’t addressed the use of the clothespin, fans went wild trying to decide whether he should have omitted it on camera.
“People are losing everything they own, no one cares how you look,” one social media user wrote via X, with another adding, “David Muir is more concerned with his appearance than he is about the fires.”
A third social media user, agreed, chiming in, “California is burning and he doesn’t want his jacket to look baggy on camera. Priorities people!”
David MuirABC
Other fans were staunchly on Muir’s side and had his back.
“Y’all leave David Muir and his clothespin fire jacket alone,” an X user wrote. “A little waist snatchin’ ain’t hurt nobody.”
Another added, “Leave david muir ALONEEEEEEEE. He probably just clothes pinned it cuz the wind is insane there. Let him look snacky.”
A string of wind-caused wildfires broke out in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday, January 7, quickly causing mass devastation. Many residents have left the city limits under mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders.
While some prepared to embrace a new experience in a Scotland castle, others were a bit hesitant to find out what the reality show would be about.
“When you go to Rome, you got to do what Romans do. Everybody is basic as f—. I got to be basic too,” Ayan, 46, shared via Instagram on January 3. “Why play fair, when I can play fabulous?”
Previously, The Traitors has featured Bravo stars like Summer House’s Kyle Cooke and Shahs of Sunset’s Reza Farahan. Season 2 also featured a powerful Bravo alliance made up of Sheree Whitfield, Mercedes “MJ” Javid and Kate Chastain.
As season 3 kicks off, get to know the Bravo stars entering the candle for an unforgettable adventure hosted by Alan Cumming:
Chanel Ayan — ‘The Real Housewives of Dubai’
Chanel AyanEuan Cherry/Peacock
Before The Real Housewives of Dubai was put on pause after season 2 in November 2024, Ayan brought the fashion, glamour and drama. As she begins The Traitors, the Bravo star admitted this experience will be a whole new ballgame.
“I have no idea what’s going on,” Ayan said via Instagram before the season 3 premiere. “As a model on Housewives, I don’t think so much. Here, I need to activate my brain so I can literally start getting into this game.”
Dolores Catania — ‘The Real Housewives of New Jersey’
Dolores CataniaEuan Cherry/Peacock
If there’s one thing The Real Housewives of New Jersey fans know about Catania, 54, it’s that loyalty is everything. No matter how much drama enters New Jersey, the Bravo star tries to see both sides and keep the peace.
While Catania can lose her temper — never forget her fight with Margaret Josephs about an alleged reunion meeting — the Jersey girl tries to keep it cool, until you cross her.
In August 2024, Catania had the support of Medley, 60, and Ayan at her annual charity softball game in Brooklyn, New York.
Robyn Dixon — ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac’
Robyn DixonEuan Cherry/Peacock
After eight seasons, Dixon, 45, said goodbye to The Real Housewives of Potomac in April 2024. While some costars questioned the state of her relationship with longtime partner Juan Dixon, nobody could doubt her friendship and bond with costar Gizelle Bryant.
While Dixon has proven to be a loyal friend in Potomac, fans are curious to see if she will continue to be trustworthy or choose to be reasonably shady.
Dorinda Medley — ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’
Dorinda MedleyEuan Cherry/Peacock
From 2015 to 2020, Medley did her best to make it nice on The Real Housewives of New York City. While she was put on pause by Andy Cohen, she returned to participate in The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip and became friends with Catania by playing softball together.
While Medley has been known for her iconic one liners, could her temper make her a threat in the house? Time will tell. Clip!
Ciara Miller — ‘Summer House’
Ciara MillerEuan Cherry/Peacock
Miller is exchanging weekends in the Hamptons for a new adventure at a Scotland castle. The Bravo star was a nurse who chose to put her career on the back burner to pursue a career in modeling.
In her last season of Summer House, Miller, 29, dealt with heartbreak when she developed feelings — and disappointment — for her costar West Wilson. With the fling in her past, Miller is ready to win the hearts of her Traitors cast — and some big money.
Tom Sandoval — ‘Vanderpump Rules’
Tom SandovalEuan Cherry/Peacock
As an original cast member of Vanderpump Rules, Sandoval, 42, has faced his fair share of OMG moments. Most recently, he faced the consequences of cheating on his longtime girlfriend Ariana Madix with her close friend and costar Rachel “Raquel” Leviss.
While the former SUR employee has tried to move on, some of his Traitors peers may not be so willing to forgive and forget.
Miller previously called Sandoval “annoying” when filming Winter House together. “The sound of his voice was annoying,” she shared on an August 2023 episode of the “Viall Files” podcast. “He talked a lot about himself, his business ventures … himself. That was just on an hour-long car ride to the mountain.”
The Traitors season 3 is streaming now on Peacock with new episodes premiering Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
Hoda Kotb’s tenure on the Today show was full of many memorable moments.
The TV personality announced in September 2024 that she would be departing the iconic morning show after 26 years on NBC, 16 years as a Today cohost and seven years as Savannah Guthrie’s co-anchor.
“I just turned 60, and it was such a monumental moment for me when I turned 60 years old because I started thinking about that decade, like, what does that decade mean? What does it hold? What’s it gonna have for me?” she shared on the show at the time. “And I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new.”
Kotb went on to explain that her daughters Haley and Hope, whom she shares with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman, played a large part in her decision to depart Today. “I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking they deserve a bigger piece of my time, the pie that I have,” she explained. “I feel like we only have a finite amount of time. And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”
Prior to her final episode in January 2025, Kotb revealed on The Kelly Clarkson Show that she was developing a “wellness app and company that will involve retreats and a podcast and all kinds of things that we can get together, do things that I love.” She added: “It’s not like going to Mexico with your girls, which is fun, but this is something that when you leave, you’ll go like, ‘Oh my gosh, I feel transformed. I feel different.’”
Scroll down to take a look back at some of Kotb’s biggest — and most tear-jerking — Today show moments:
Kotb cried while announcing she had adopted her eldest daughter, Haley, via a call-in on a February 2017 episode of Today. She broke the news by sharing a sweet photo of herself holding her then-newborn with her on-air cohosts.
“She is the love of my life,” Kotb happily told her colleagues over the phone. Her announcement prompted tearful reactions from Jenna Bush Hager and Kathie Lee Gifford.
“My mom who’s here with me … [she] goes, ‘Hello, miss Haley. We’ve waiting so long for you.’” Kotb stated.
While on maternity leave, Kotb celebrated her 9th anniversary cohostingToday’s fourth hour with Gifford in April 2017. “I want to say something to you, Kath, on our ninth anniversary, that my life has changed so profoundly since I met you. Profoundly,” she told Gidfford while calling into the show to commemorate the occasion. “I told you this before, but I cannot believe the path my life took after our lives intersected, so for every single day of the nine years, I love you.”
Kotb’s words made Gifford tear up. She quipped: “I think she said, ‘I love you.’ I hope that’s what she said.”
Kotb, for her part, also got dewey-eyed on air during her first episode back from maternity leave that same month. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy,” she said before grabbing a box of tissues.
Making History
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Kotb took over as Guthrie’s Today coanchor in January 2018 after Matt Lauer was fired following sexual harassment allegations made against him. The promotion was a historic decision as she and Guthrie became the first female co-anchor duo in Today history.
“This has to be the most popular decision NBC News has ever made, and I am so thrilled,” Guthrie said during their first episode together. She added: “Hoda, you are a partner and a friend and a sister, and I am so happy to be doing this.”
Kotb replied: “Well, there’s no one I’d rather be sitting next to in 2018 than you.”
Similar to her first baby announcement, Kotb called into Today in April 2019 to reveal she adopted her daughter Hope. Just like the first time, Bush Hager burst into happy tears along with more of the Today crew.
“In your life, you think that maybe you’ve gotten what you deserve, but man, I’m so happy she’s here,” Kotb gushed, noting that Haley was “digging” being a big sister.
“Joel and I were standing there when they hand you the baby, and it’s the closest thing to a live birth, I think, you’ll ever see,” she added. “But in that moment, I was like, ‘Oh, my God! My heart just grew ten times. It’s amazing!’ Anyway, I just can’t believe it’s happening, y’all.”
Willie Geist followed up Kotb’s heartfelt words by joking, “I’ve been giving out Kleenex, but I think I’m gonna need a mop.”
Put a Ring on It
Steve Granitz/Getty Images
Kotb continued her trend of sharing major life moments on Today by announcing she and Schiffman were engaged during a November 2019 episode of the show. “A friend of mine, a friend of ours asked me to let you guys in on a secret,” she stated. “I’ll give you her initials. Her initials are Hoda Kotb and she’s engaged.”
The news came as a major shock to her cohosts, who cheered and jumped out of their seats and gave Kotb congratulatory hugs. “You’ve got two built-in flower girls,” Al Roker quipped, to which Bush Hager responded, “Who? Savannah and me?”
Getting Serious
Hoda KotbToday
During a March 2020 episode of Today, Kotb got choked up after Drew Brees announced he would be making a $5 million donation to help Louisiana COVID-19 efforts. The pair share a special connection to New Orleans, as Brees formerly played for the city’s NFL team the Saints and Kotb got her career started at one of the city’s local news stations.
“I’m sorry,” she said while attempting to fight back tears after the interview. Guthrie comforted her cohost by stating, “I know, it’s a lot. Hoda, I’m so sorry, hun. Take a moment.” Guthrie then offered to read Kotb’s tease for the episode’s next segment.
Bush Hager was by Kotb’s side as she revealed that she and Schiffman had ended their engagement during a January 2022 episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna. “We decided that we are better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple, so we decided we are going to start this new year on our new path as loving parents to our adorably delightful children and as friends,” she revealed at the time.
“They say sometimes, relationships are meant to be there for a reason, for a season or for a lifetime, and I feel like ours was meant to be there for a season,” she said, adding that she was “struggling” with how to announce the news.
Bush Hager supported her cohost by stating, “Watching you sit right here strong, I can’t think of anybody stronger.”
Kotb wrapped up the discussion by noting: “[Joel is] a great guy. He’s a very kind and loving person, and I feel privileged to have spent eight years with him.”
Hope’s Health Scare
Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb.TODAY
Kotb was noticeably absent from several episodes of Today in early 2023 after her daughter Hope experienced a health scare. Upon returning to the show that March, Kotb revealed that Hope had been “in the ICU for a few days and in the hospital for a little more than a week.”
She added: “I’m so grateful she’s home. … I was waiting for that day to come. And we are watching her closely. I’m just so happy.”
Kotb got emotional while talking about going “through a divorce and breast cancer simultaneously” during an October 2023 episode of Hoda & Jenna. Kotb fought breast cancer in 2007, around the same time she and her ex-husband, Burzis Kanga, had called it quits. (The exes were married from 2005 to 2008.)
“I remembered in that time barely functioning, and I was thinking to myself, ‘Is this it? Is this how it goes?’” she shared at the time. “I was thinking about some of my lowest moments during that time what was contributing to all of it was I was in horrible health, and I didn’t care about that piece of it, and you don’t realize how bad it gets and then you’re compounding it, your health gets worse, because you’re not well, and [it] went on and on.”
Celebrating Partnerships
Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on ‘Today.’Nathan Congleton/NBC
Kotb gushed about her friendship with Bush Hager while celebrating their 5th anniversary as Hoda & Jenna cohosts in April 2024. “We started off as colleagues/friends. We didn’t really know each other. Over the five years, there’s such a deep understanding of the other’s soul and purpose, we have traveled down these roads together,” she shared. “A lot of times, friendships don’t grow. They are: you talk about the old days. Not ours.”
She also thanked Bush Hager for leading her “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.”
Getting Sentimental
Hoda got choked up while reminiscing on her father, Abdel Kader Kotb, on what would have been his 91st birthday, particularly about how he would be as a grandfather today. “I was actually thinking about him with the girls,” she told Bush Hager on a May 2024 episode of Hoda & Jenna. Bush Hager finished Hoda’s thought by noting her father would be “so, so proud” of her and her daughters.
The Today cast and crew commemorated Hoda’s milestone birthday with a special dedicated to her, during which Guthrie surprised Kotb by bringing back the subjects of some of her most memorable human interest stories over the years. The guests greeted her with hugs and bouquets of flowers, causing her to cry.
She shed many more tears during her birthday episode of Hoda & Jenna after Bush Hager presented Hoda with a painting of her and her daughters created by former President George W. Bush. “It’s too much,” a speechless Hoda managed to get out while admitting the homemade gift.
Starting a New Chapter
Hoda KotbNathan Congleton/NBC
“Hoda, we love you so much, and when you look around and you see these tears, they’re love. You are so loved. And honestly, I don’t think any of us can imagine — we don’t want to imagine this place without you,” Guthrie told Hoda after she announced her exit from the series in September 2024. “So, it’s complicated ‘cause we love you so much and we don’t want you to ever go. But also, I just want to say I am so proud of my friend.”
Guthrie went on to praise Hoda for having “guts” to “leave at the top of their game, to leave something that’s wonderful, that you love, where it’s easy and comfortable and beautiful and fun and say, ‘But I dream even bigger for myself.’”
Bush Hager kept the waterworks flowing later that day on Hoda & Jenna, telling her cohost: “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. We have a lot of bosses and I love them, but this lady, on October 28, 2013 — I looked it up — said, ‘Hey, wanna come sit next to me? There’s room.’”
Kotb cheered Bush Hager up by telling her it’s “your turn” to shine, adding, “And whoever sits in this seat, whoever sits in this seat, is going to have the easiest job in the world ‘cause they’re sitting next to you.”
Time to Say Goodbye
Today
Several of Kotb’s celebrity friends gathered together to celebrate Kotb’s final episode of Today in January 2025, including Gifford, Jimmy Fallon, Gayle King, Simone Biles and Maria Shriver. While Bush Hager shared her own heartfelt tribute to Kotb on their last Hoda & Jenna episode, Kotb read a “love letter” she wrote to the fans and those who have joined her on her Today journey.
“I’ve become who I am on this hour of this show, and you were there with me every step of the way,” she said in an emotional video package. “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.”
Kotb’s daughters and dozens of Today cast and crew members stood by her side during her final send-off, during which she thanked Hoda & Jenna’s executive producer, Talia Parkinson-Jones. “You’ve loved me and Jenna since the very beginning, the day you started, and I just want to say thank you,” she gushed.
In her final moments on Today, a clip was shown of Kotb and her daughters riding away from 30 Rock in her minivan, which had cans and a “Just Repotted” sign attached to the back.
‘Tis the season to bundle up. Old Man Winter continues to rage on with massive snowstorms in cities like Atlanta and Dallas. The chilly temps are the perfect time to showcase your personality with the help of cold-weather accessories, like oversized scarves.
Most of Us like to bundle up with classic outerwear styles that we can wear again and again. Oversized scarves are a fun way to add a pop of personality to your look no matter what your winter coat looks like. We’ve rounded up everything from bestselling styles that shoppers can’t get enough of to trendy ones that come in viral shades. Get ready to bundle up in style with our cozy oversized scarf picks below!
1. Our Absolute Favorite: More than 900 shoppers snagged this chocolatey brown infinity scarf in the past month, proving just how popular it is!
2. We Also Love: Looking for a style from a celeb-loved brand? A-listers ranging from Goldie Hawn to Kylie Jenner have been spotted in Kurt Geiger. The brand’s Yarn Dye Rainbow Fringe Scarf is an effortless way to nail the viral trend and stay warm at the same time!
3. Fuzzy Find: Love soft fuzzy fabric? This Urban Outfitters Scarf features a fringe trim and a lively color pattern!
4. Night Out: Heading to a festive occasion? This oversized shawl looks amazing layered over evening gowns!
5. Trending Topic: This Topshop Sydney Plaid Scarf has an assortment of brown shades, including one that looks just like Pantone’s 2025 color of the year mocha mousse!
6. Colorful Cutie: This vibrant scarf features so many colors that you’ll be able to wear it with just about everything in your closet!
7. All About Oversize: This Alo Merino Wool Scarf puts the over in oversized. Made from buttery soft fabric, this lightweight scarf comes in a versatile black shade that you can style with so many outfits!
8. Sophisticated Style: If you ask Us, cashmere is one of the best fabrics to wear in the winter. This sophisticated scarf earned Amazon’s ‘Customer’s Usually Keep’ badge proving just how much shoppers love it!
10. Bestseller: This shopper-loved scarf has a cool pattern and is so oversized it looks like a blanket!
11. Massive Markdown: This J. Crew Brushed Woven Scarf delivers rich mom vibes and it’s on sale starting at just $26!
12. Last but Not Least: You’ve got to be seen in this gorgeous green scarf. It’s made from luxurious wool fabric that’s sure to protect against winter’s chilly weather!
Zendaya and Tom HollandKarwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images
Tom Holland’s dad, Dominic Holland, is giving insight on his son’s recent engagement to Zendaya.
“The big news this week is a good example of just such an opportunity for me — are they/aren’t they engaged? Zendaya wearing a ring and Tom nowhere to be seen adding to the intrigue,” Dominic, 57, wrote in a Friday, January 10, blog post via his Patreon account. “The engagement has now been confirmed and why I am writing about it here but without adding anything new and juicy like a date, venue, guest list …”
On his Patreon page, Dominic, who is an author and comedian, usually shares unseen blogs, snippets from his books, podcasts that sometimes features members of his family. But in the recent post, he wanted to highlight the news of Tom and Zendaya’s relationship milestone.
Dominic confessed that while he’s been “showered with parenthood praise” over the years, he joked that it’s more of a “fluke” how great Tom and his other kids turned out. (In addition to Tom, Dominic is also the father of Paddy Holland, Harry Holland and Sam Holland.)
However, Dominic teased that Tom’s plan to pop the question to Zendaya, 28, was thoroughly thought out.
“And this I can demonstrate now by contrasting the different approaches of father and son to proposing marriage.Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared,” Dominic continued. “He had purchased a ring. He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
While Tom, 38, had “everything planned out” from the location to his speech, Dominic confessed that his proposal to wife Nikki Holland was not done in a similar fashion.
Tom Holland (R) and his father Dominic Holland.Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images
“I on the other hand was woefully ill-prepared, almost as though I wasn’t taking it seriously,” he said. “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
While Dominic acknowledged that his son and Zendaya’s relationship is in the public eye, he has no doubts that the couple will achieve a lifetime of happiness.
“And even though show-business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention,” he continued. “With us an example, with Nikki helming this family and my ‘wisdom’ on tap and a study in getting things mostly wrong and yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
Us Weekly confirmed that Tom and Zendaya were engaged after the actress was spotted rocking a diamond on her ring finger while attending the 2025 Golden Globes Awards.
“Tom figured the holidays were the best time to propose in a very low-key way,” a source exclusively told Us shortly after news of Tom and Zendaya’s engagement broke on Monday, January 6. “She didn’t want anything over the top.”
Following their engagement news, Tom and Zendaya got matching tattoos of each other’s initials.
Noah Wyle is “not sorry” about playing a new doctor on The Pitt instead of reprising his role as John Carter in a now-scrapped ER revival.
After The Pitt premiered on Thursday, January 9, Wyle, 53, was asked about how plans to bring back ER ultimately turned into an entirely new show instead.
“That calls into question all the various chronologies of this and all the different sorts of iterations. You’re absolutely right, the intentionality was born in 2020 during the pandemic,” Wyle told TVLine on Thursday. “The idea was to take a look at what was happening to the people that were on the front lines, and also take a look at the population that was getting sick and dying, and seeing how there appeared to be two different health care systems in our country — those for people who have money and insurance, and those who don’t.”
“Those were all issues we tried to talk about back in the ’90s, when 22 million Americans were going without health insurance and using emergency rooms as their primary source of health care. All of these themes were really significant to us then, and they have remained significant to us,” Wyle, who played John Carter on the long-running series, noted. “Then it just became, ‘Is the old IP [intellectual property] the easiest and most advantageous delivery system?’ It seemed to be the one that people were most excited about trying, but it wasn’t really the point of the exercise.”
arrick Page/MAX
Despite there being an interest in ER being revived, Wyle was more excited about doing a new take on the subject, adding, “The more we went down that road, the more the point got obscured in the reunion aspect, the retread aspect and the reboot aspect. So I was not sorry when we were sort of forced to pivot and figure out how to tell the story in a new way.”
Wyle continued: “In a lot of ways, [not reviving ER] unburdened us from narrative limitations that we would have had to adhere to, and pay homage to.”
ER, which aired from 1994 to 2009, followed the inner life of an emergency room in a fictionalized version of Chicago’s real Cook County Hospital. Wyle starred alongside George Clooney, Julianna Marguiles, Anthony Edwards, Eriq La Salle and Sherry Stringfield (and later John Stamos, Mekhi Pfifer and Linda Cardellini, among others).
More than a decade after ER ended, Wyle has returned as the star and executive producer of a new medical series on Max. The Pitt is described by the streaming service as “a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today’s America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh.”
The Pitt highlights the highs — and lows — of the job while making the 15 episodes showcase 15 hours of one shift.
“[Fellow EP] John [Wells], Max and Warner Brothers were on board to try to make use of this new platform of streaming, to see whether or not we could tell the story in a visually more arresting way than we did back in the ’90s,” Wyle explained. “It is a more photorealistic way than we were ever able to do, and in a more organic, performance-based way. Because you’re no longer to standards and practices and language [barriers], you really can paint with all the colors on the palette. The question isn’t ‘What can you show?’ Instead it is, ‘What should you show, in discretion and taste?'”
“I wanted it to feel like what it used to feel like — and what it hadn’t felt like for a long time. Could we make it feel that way again? John and [creator] R. Scott [Gemmill] were on board for that because they, too, have been looking for that feeling that we all [last] had 15 years ago, when we did this the first time,” he continued. “The work felt good, and we had a good time, and we liked each other while we did it, and everybody was respectful. It was inclusive, and it was groundbreaking. And we wanted to see if lightning could strike twice — and, in some ways, it already has.”
In addition to The Pitt, Thursday also marked the premiere of Wyle’s former costar La Salle’s Prime Video seriesOn Call. Wyle was asked about the coincidence by TVLine, to which he replied, “No [I didn’t know], but what can I say? The ’90s are back.”
“You sick motherf—ers,” Kardashian, 40, wrote via Instagram Stories on Thursday, January 9. “What the f— is wrong with people?!?! Arson!!!! may you be fully prosecuted!!! What scum!!!”
A string of wildfires broke out in Los Angeles on Tuesday, January 9, prompting widespread devastation across the city. Over 10,000 structures were leveled and at least 10 people died, and most residents followed mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders.
Not only were locals battling wind-caused wildfires, but also a string of human-set fires. One suspect was arrested on Thursday for allegedly causing the Kenneth Fire, according to multiple outlets.
According to NewsNation, the Los Angeles Police Department assistant chief, Dominic Choi, said there was not enough probable cause to arrest the individual for arson. Instead, the suspect was booked for a felony probation violation.
The L.A.’s district attorney Nathan Hochman, meanwhile, told the outlet that if the fire was determined to be the result of arson, the suspect could face homicide charges and a potential life in prison sentence.
“Justice will be swift. It will be firm, and the maximum punishment will be sought,” Hochman said on NewsNation’s Banfield.
Courtesy of Khloe Kardashian/Instagram
LikeKardashian, Bush, 42, was also outraged by the alleged arson attempt during the “unimaginable” natural disaster.
“Thank you all for the check-ins, texts, the DMs. I know it’s really intense when you don’t hear from people. We’re all really trying our best,” the One Tree Hill alum said in a Thursday video posted to her Instagram Stories. “These last two days have been absolutely horrific for our city. My family’s been evacuated twice. We are all safe, so I feel very, very blessed.”
Bush continued, “So, many people have lost so much and it’s pretty unimaginable, unfathomable and inexplicable. The folks who have jumped on this horrific climate disaster with hurricane-force winds and set fire to some of our surrounding communities are monsters.”
Bush echoed Kardashian’s sentiments and hoped the apparent arsonists would be “prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
“Everyone out there, be the second [group of people and help], not the first,” Bush added, citing examples of good samaritans aiding victims in the wake of the wildfire devastation.
Winkler, 79, similarly condemned the arsonists, sharing news coverage on his X page. “One has been caught so far !!!!” he wrote on Thursday.
All three celebs have been lending their support, as well. Bush has shared resources online and also cold-called six local fire departments. Kardashian, meanwhile, and her famous family have donated meals from Carousel Restaurant to local first responders.
Dancing With the Stars pro Peta Murgatroyd, for her part, also called out the alleged arsonists. “These people are starting fires everywhere,” she said in a Friday, January 10, social media video. “Like, three people have been caught right down here in the Valley area. I mean, these people are sick in the head.”
The hosts of the Today show have shared several glimpses into their family lives on the show and online over the years.
Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and more of the NBC morning show stars have welcomed children over the years. Kotb, who left the series in January 2025, became a mother in February 2017 when she adopted her daughter Haley with then-partner Joel Schiffman.
“She’s a Valentine’s baby. She is the love of my life,” Kotb gushed on the show at the time. “I didn’t know my heart could feel like this. This is a moment in my life that I never thought would happen, and here it is, happening to me.”
The pair’s family continued to grow with the addition of their daughter Hope in April 2019. “She is laying on the pillow right now,” Kotb told her cohosts while calling in to the show. “I’m feeding her. I can’t believe it. Like, I’m sitting here and, you know, you think that maybe you have gotten what you deserve, but man, I’m so happy she is here.”
Kotb and Schiffman have continued to coparent their girls following their split in January 2022.
Keep scrolling to get to know the families of the Today show hosts:
Five years after her divorce from ex-husband Mark Orchard, Guthrie tied the knot with her second husband, Michael Feldman. The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Vale, in August 2014, followed by their son, Charley, in December 2016.
“Having kids later in life wasn’t so much a choice – it was just the way life happened for me,” Guthrie told Health magazine in April 2019. “But when I think about being in my 30s and what I was doing and trying to build a career, it would have been incredibly difficult for me to have kids back then.”
Kotb and Schiffman have remained cordial coparents to their daughters, Haley and Hope, since ending their eight-year relationship in 2022. “He sees the kids,” Kotb exclusively told Us Weekly in April 2022. “He takes them to school some, and he sees them on weekends. We’ve got a really nice, easy situation.”
She went on to note that she and Schiffman “make sure that the kids get plenty of him and plenty of me.”
When announcing her departure from Today in September 2024, Kotb gave a sweet shout-out to her daughters and mother.
“My broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie,” she shared in the statement. “I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited.”
Kotb’s kids were by her side when she bid farewell to Today in January 2025 after nearly 30 years working at NBC.
Roker welcomed his eldest daughter, Courtney, in 1987, with his then-wife, Alice Bell. After their divorce, he went on to wed his second wife, Deborah Roberts, in 1995 and welcomed their daughter, Leila, three years later. The couple completed their family with the birth of their son, Nick, in 2002.
Roker became a first-time grandfather in July 2023 after Courtney gave birth to her daughter, Sky, with her husband, Wesley Laga. At the time, Roker let his Today cohosts know that he and his family “couldn’t be happier” about their newest addition.
Roker celebrated Easter in March 2024 with Sky, Courtney and Nick, while Leila chatted with her family via FaceTime. “Been awhile since I made an Easter meal,” he captioned an Instagram family photo. “Having family around makes the effort all the more worth it.”
Melvin is a father of two with his wife, Lindsay Czarniak, whom he wed in 2011. The pair welcomed kids Delano and Sybil in March 2014 and November 2016, respectively.
Melvin opened up about raising biracial children in a February 2024 essay for Today.com. “What we have done, deliberately, is really try to expose our kids to both of our backgrounds. We’ve introduced them to Black history as well as Polish history, which is Lindsay’s ancestry,” he wrote. “For example, during the holidays we go out of our way to incorporate as many Polish and African-American traditions as possible. Every January, we make the kids watch — from beginning to end — the entire ‘I Have A Dream’ speech and it always sparks conversation and questions.”
Carson and his wife, Siri Daly, became parents before tying the knot in 2015. The couple welcomed their only son, Jackson, in 2009, followed by daughters Etta, London and Goldie in 2012, 2014 and 2020, respectively.
The Voice host shared a rare photo with all four of his kids via Instagram in November 2023. “Special night @ubsarena watching @ny_islanders & Cal Clutterbuck celebrate game #1000 honor with his family on the ice,” he captioned a pic of himself and his children decked out in New York Islanders merch. “Kudos to the all time @nhl hits leader! 💪🏼👏🏻🍺.”
Five years after saying “I do” with her husband, Henry Hager, Bush Hager gave birth to her eldest daughter, Mila. The couple welcomed their second daughter, Poppy, in 2015, followed by their son, Hal, in 2019.
“My biggest dream was to be a mom,” Bush Hager tearfully shared during an October 2022 episode of Today With Hoda and Jenna. “That’s all I wanted.” The following August, Bush Hager said she’d “like to have another baby” but that “Henry put his foot down.”
Two years after Jones and her husband, Uche Ojeh, got married in 2007, they welcomed their firstborn, son Kayin. Jones gave birth to her fraternal twins, Clara and Uche Jr., in 2012.
Jones brought all of her kids to the Today set in April 2023 for Bring Your Kid to Work Day. “This is the first time my kiddos have seen me do the show in the studio!” she captioned an Instagram slideshow of pics from their special day. “I think it was good for them to see what mommy does every morning. I used to love going to work with my mom … I hope they look back on this day fondly too.”
Since tying the knot with her husband, Brian Fichera, in 2012, Dreyer has become a mom of three. The couple’s eldest, Calvin, was born in 2016, followed by Oliver in 2020 and Rusty in 2021.
After Calvin was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2023, Dreyer created a Today segment called Cooking With Cal where she and her son share how to make delicious gluten-free recipes. “I want him to still be able to enjoy food and not just settle for something,” she told Today in May 2023. “There’s a lot of recipes that just don’t have gluten. I can cook a lot that doesn’t involve breads and flours.”
The Saturday Today cohost married fellow news anchor Alison Starling in 2012. The two went on to welcome their daughters, Ava and Emma, in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
“Juggling work and fatherhood has given me a much greater appreciation for all working parents,” Alexander told Today.com in May 2016. “Similarly, my ability to empathize has grown dramatically since I became a dad. I feel the stories I’m telling much more deeply, especially about the sacrifices families make for their children.”
The Saturday Today cohost gave birth to her son, James, in 2019 and her daughter, June, in 2002. Jarrett shares her children with her husband, Tony Balkissoon, whom she wed in 2012.
“Tony and I waited a while before we had children, which I think was super valuable because we just got to have fun,” she explained of her parenthood journey in a September 2023 interview with Today.com. “Kids are wonderful, but they can be extremely taxing on marriages. We had a ball just the two of us for a long time and I think that really set us up for success.”
The Sunday Today host and his wife, Christina, got married in 2003, four years after which they welcomed their daughter, Lucie. Their family continued to grow with the birth of their son, George, in 2009.
Geist got a little emotional discussing his kids’ milestones during a February 2024 episode of Today, particularly Lucie getting her driver’s license.
“She pulled away. She’s driving in front of me and Christina and it was little emo,” he joked. “The first thought I had was, I taught her how to ride a bike in Riverside Park in New York, you stand behind her, you hold the seat. … And you watch her kind of go away on her own. And she turns back and goes, 'Oh, Dad's not holding the seat anymore, I did it.' And I had the same feeling.”
During the Thursday, January 9, episode of Jenna Bush Hager‘s “Open Book” podcast, TSITP creator and showrunner Jenny Han recalled her attempts to get a Swift song for the season 1 finale of the hit Prime Video show.
“I was kind of trying to Inception it into everyone’s heads that we need this,” Han, 44, recalled about how she was willing to do “whatever it took” to get “The Way I Loved You” from Swift’s Fearless album for the season 1 finale. “I don’t think anyone thought we were gonna get it, honestly.”
A rep at Amazon Music suggested to Han that she write a letter to Swift, 35, about why it was “really important” to feature the song on screen.
“I wrote a handwritten note about how much it would mean — not just to me — but to the fans. That was the gift I really wanted to give because I’m like, ‘They’re gonna go crazy for this,'” she recalled. “We were so lucky to get more than one [song].”
Taylor SwiftGareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty centers on Belly (Lola Tung) and her brother, Steven (Sean Kaufman), who spend the summer visiting a beach house belonging to their childhood friends Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). After initially having a crush on Conrad, Belly’s life gets more complicated when she finds herself developing feelings for Jeremiah.
Han, who is a self-proclaimed Swiftie, has previously discussed how the show’s viewers influenced its soundtrack.
“I think for me just as a fan, to be able to give the book fans that moment is what is really meaningful to me, because if you’re a fan of The Summer I Turned Pretty, I’m pretty sure you’re a fan of Taylor Swift,” she told The Wrap in June 2022. “And I know this because so many fans have asked me to put her music on the show and I just never knew if we were going to be able to or not. So when we were, I just, I couldn’t believe it. That’s probably the most excited I’ve been in the whole process and the fact that we got like five total, which I’m really excited for the fans to see, because it will be like, I think maybe unexpected at times at certain big moments.”
Season 1 used Swift’s discography for romantic cues revolving around Belly’s crush on Conrad, with “Cruel Summer,” “Lover,” “The Way I Loved You (Taylor’s Version)” and “This Love (Taylor’s Version)” setting the scene as the characters fell in love.
The second season raised the stakes with nearly twice as many Swift songs including “August,” “Sweet Nothing,” “Delicate (Taylor’s Version),” “Bigger Than the Whole Sky” and “Exile.”
“I felt like Taylor is someone who bets on women. And I felt like she bet on me,” Han added on Thursday. “And I can’t say enough how thankful I am that she let us use her music. And I think she knows, too, her fans would like the show.”
The Summer I Turned Pretty is currently streaming on Prime Video.
Riley Leonard and Molly WaldingCourtesy of Molly Walding/Instagram
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard had quite the cheering section at the Orange Bowl on Thursday night — including his longtime girlfriend, Molly Walding.
Walding was in the stands at Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium next to Leonard’s parents, Chad and Heather, for the Fighting Irish’s dramatic 27-24 victory over Penn State, which earned Notre Dame a trip to the College Football National Championship on Monday, January 20.
“PINCH ME!!!!!!! ,” Walding posted via her Instagram Story, showing a wide shot of Leonard, 22, and his teammates celebrating on the field under a shower of confetti.
Walding eventually found her way to Leonard after the game and posted a selfie of the happy couple via her Story. “I’m GIDDY! Turning dreams into reality!!!!!!!! ,” she captioned a photo.
During his postgame interview with SEC Network’s Alyssa Lang, Leonard said he was anxious to see Walding and give her an orange that he was saving from the team’s postgame celebration.
Riley Leonard #13 of Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates with his team after winning the game against Penn State Nittany Lions at Hard Rock Stadium on January 9, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida.Michael Pimentel/ISI Photos/Getty Images
“I’m looking for my girlfriend, hopefully I can give her one,” Leonard said. “She loves oranges…Let’s hope we find her right now.”
Leonard and Walding, currently a student at Auburn University, have been dating since December 2017, when they were students together at Fairthorpe High School in Fairthorpe, Alabama.
Their friendship dates back even further, as evidenced by a picture Walding posted via Instagram in September 2016 when the two were students at Fairthorpe Middle School.
Courtesy of Molly Walding/Instagram
When the couple celebrated their six-year anniversary in December 2023, Leonard gushed via Instagram, “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while. Happy 6 years.”
As for Leonard’s on-field performance on Thursday night, it came with a bit of a scare. Near the end of the first half, the quarterback was pulled from the game due to concussion protocol after taking a big hit. Backup quarterback, Steve Angeli, executed the team’s final drive of the half in Leonard’s absence.
Courtesy of Molly Walding/Instagram
However, Leonard returned for the second half after being cleared and helped lead Notre Dame to the school’s first national championship game since 2013.
“I knew I was going to get back out there,” Leonard told ESPN after the game. “Obviously, safety first on the football field. I just kind of had to prove to everybody that I was fine. I got up a little wobbly, but it’s all good.”
Notre Dame will play the winner of the other College Football Playoff semifinal between Ohio State and Texas — who face off in the Cotton Bowl on Friday, January 10 — when in the National Championship from Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 20.
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,” Walding posted via her Instagram Story, showing a wide shot of Leonard, 22, and his teammates celebrating on the field under a shower of confetti. 
