She continued: “I just turned 60 and it was such a monumental moment for me… because I started thinking about that decade. For example: “What does this decade mean?” What does it hold? What will it have for me?”

“I decided this was the right time for me to move on,” she shared.

An emotional Kotb described the decision as “the hardest thing in the world” but she will not resign immediately.

“I won’t be here longer than the beginning of the year. I will stay in the NBC family, but this is a big deal for me,” she said.

Guthrie, Al Roker, Bush Hager, Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones expressed their congratulations – and there wasn’t a dry eye in the morning show set.

According to another insider, tears continued to flow at a staff meeting where Kotb gave a “meaningful and heartfelt” speech.

“Savannah also gave a speech that brought everyone to tears. Hoda cried. Savannah cried. Everyone was crying,” they said.

Sources said Kotb recently fled the city for the suburbs and her daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4, were the main reason behind her decision to give up her lucrative morning gig.

Guthrie and Bush Hager needn’t worry, however, because “You’re not leaving your family, so I’ll be following you for a long, long time in your life,” she told them.