A visibly emotional Meredith Vieira announced this morning that she is officially leaving her position as co-anchor of NBC's top-ranked Today show, a job she has held for the past five years. "I'm going to try to hold myself together here—but after months of personal reflection and private conversations with my friends and family, I've decided to leave Today in June," she said while fighting back tears. But what will become of her co-anchor, Matt Lauer, recently rumored to be reuniting with free agent Katie Couric?
Well, he's not going anywhere just yet. Ann Curry is set to replace Vieira alongside Lauer, which makes room for current third-hour host Natalie Morales to move on up and take Curry's place as newsreader; meanwhile, NBC News White House correspondent and MSNBC anchor Savannah Guthrie will become a co-host of the third hour.
There had been much speculation that Vieira was on her way out, primarily in order to spend more time with her family—her husband, Richard, has multiple sclerosis, and the couple has three children. "I'm really sad, because this has been my second home," said Vieira during her announcement. As for Curry, she declared: “I feel like the high school computer nerd who has just been asked to the prom by the quarterback of the football team."
