Savannah Guthrie cries over false eyelashes as Hoda Kotb announces her departure from 'Today'

Hoda Kotbs Today The announcement of her departure from the show caused many tears among her colleagues, including Savannah Guthrie, who lost her glamour!

In a sweet segment that aired Thursday, Sept. 26, Guthrie, 52, was so overcome with emotion that one of her false eyelashes came off, leading to a hilarious moment between her, Kotb, 60, Al Roker and Sheinelle Jones.

“Here's my eyelash,” Guthrie told Kotb, handing one to her co-host as they went live on air. Kotb then interrupted her breaking news report to show the camera a close-up of the false eyelash.

A few seconds later, Guthrie jokingly tried to pass the whip to 46-year-old Jones instead, who said, “That's disgusting!” and jumped out of the way, laughing.

“I don't want to hold a whip, that's okay,” 70-year-old Roker joked to Jones shortly afterwards, before launching into his own report, which she again tried to pass on in a joking manner.

Kotb spoke on NBC's morning news series Thursday about how she is ready to “start a new chapter in her life,” which includes a departure from the show as Guthrie's co-host since 2018 in early 2025 and a total of 17 years as host. Today.

In tears, Kotb explained her motives Today Family on Thursday's show, surrounded by Guthrie, Roker, Jones, Craig Melvin and Kotb's fourth-hour co-host Jenna Bush Hager.

During the meeting with her co-hosts, Guthrie told her friend, “Hoda, we love you so much. And when you look around and see those tears, it's love. You are so loved. … We don't want to imagine this place without you.”

“But I also want to say I'm so proud of my girlfriend,” she continued. “You have guts. When someone leaves at the peak of their career – leaving something wonderful that you love, where it's easy and comfortable and beautiful and fun, and says, 'But I dream even bigger,' into the great unknown, you have so much guts.”

“You inspire me. I love you,” Guthrie said, adding at the end of the paragraph, “You are our sunshine.”

In a letter to her colleagues published Thursday, Kotb wrote that she will remain part of the NBC family but will step down from her longtime position as anchor in early 2025.

“At 60, I realized it was time for me to move on and try something new,” she explained. “I remember standing outside and looking at this wonderful group of people with these amazing signs, and I thought, 'This is what the crest of the wave feels like to me.' And I thought, it can't get any better than this, and I decided this is the right time for me to move on.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Kotb went on to talk about what led to this decision in her personal life – namely, that she wants to spend more time with her family, which includes her daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4. (She shares the girls with her ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman.)

“As I write this, my heart is wavering,” she wrote. “I know I'm making the right decision, but it's a painful one. And all of you are the reason for that. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I feel that so much right now. I love you And it's time for me to leave the show.”