Meredith Vieirasigned off from ‘TODAY‘ for the last time Wednesday morning after five years on the job.
The co-host of the NBC program decided in April to leave the show, passing the baton to colleague Anne Curry.
“It’s tough. It’s a hard one. Very mixed emotions. I’m looking at everybody right here and wishing I … no, I know it’s right, but it’s hard,” Vieira said at the top of her last show.
Matt Lauer got right to it in the early part of the show and with Al Roker, Curry and Natalie Morales on hand, introduced a playful montage of some of Merdith’s most memorable moments.
“It’s been a privilege working with you over these past five years,” Lauer said. “And I know the folks at home have enjoyed starting their day with you as well. It has been a great ride.”
Becoming emotional, Vieira spoke about the “power of this show to really reach people and it’s such a blessing to have had that ability. I’m so honored to have sat with all of you.”
Quick with the wit, she added, “Most of you.”
Meredith made the official announcement of her departure last month after rumors that she planned to leave the show popped up in April.
“After months of personal reflection and private conversations between my family and my friends, I’ve decided to leave ‘Today,’ in June,” she said, sitting a couch next to Curry, Matt Lauer and Al Roker.
Vieira has hosted NBC’s ‘Today’ for the past five years with Lauer, taking over for Katie Couric when she decided to the leave the show in 2006. Before taking on the early morning role, Vieira was the original moderator on ‘The View.’
As co-host of the popular show, Vieira has had her fair share of interesting experiences — all caught on camera for the world to see. ‘The Today Show’ has been replaying some of Vieira’s top moments this week, leading up to today’s farewell show.
‘Today Show‘ co-host Meredith Vieira is officially leaving the NBC morning show, she announced during Monday’s broadcast.
“After months of personal reflection and private conversations between my family and my friends, I’ve decided to leave ‘Today,’ in June,” she said, sitting next to Matt Lauer and Al Roker.
Vieira, who has co-hosted the show with Lauer for the past five years, said she has decided to spend more time with her husband, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, and their three children.
Ann Curry will take over Vieira’s chair, and NBC correspondent Natalie Morales will take over Curry’s news desk position.
“I feel like the high school computer nerd who was just asked to the prom by the quarterback of the football team,” an emotional Curry said, calling Vieira a “gift to this broadcast” and if it was her choice, Vieira would stay on ‘Today.’
Vieira said her goal is to stay in the NBC family, just not on the ‘Today Show’ couch.
This week has been full or rumors and reports of people leaving their seats as TV journalists and presenters, the latest comes in the form of Matt Lauer who is supposedly leaving The Today Show when his contract expires next year.
Entertainment Tonight report that Lauer’s contract expires on December 31st 2012 and he has no intentions to sign the dotted line on another contract. This comes hot off the heels of the news that his co-presenter Meredith Vieria may not renew her contract for Today when it expires later this year. Today show bosses released a statement saying:
“There seems to be an awful lot of speculation around news anchors these days, and it’s not our practice to comment on any of it. Matt Lauer has a long term contract with NBC News and ‘Today.’ The Today Show anchors are currently under contract and firmly in place.”"
This all comes with the news that Matt’s former Today Show co-host, Katie Couric, is also leaving her gig on the Evening News after joining the show back in 2006.
Now there are rumors that both Matt and Katie are planning on teaming up with Jeff Zucker, the former Today Show exec producer, and launch their own show. I guess time will tell how this all pans out.
Tiger Woods‘ 4th mistress, Jamie Jungers, appeared on NBC’s The Today Show early this morning and told Meredith Vieria that she was in love with the worlds most famous cheater.
Jungers said she she loved Woods and denied reports that she was a paid escort, instead she says the only thing she got from this relationship was a broken heart.
The reason she said she was appearing on the show was to clear the air and “make all these false rumors in the past,” she also gave details of how they first met. She says he was hanging in the VIP section of a Las Vegas club when a waitress came to up her and said Woods wanted to introduce himself to her.
After going up and having drinks, the pair and some of his friends went back to his suite at the MGM hotel were they continued to drink and “get more flirtatious,” they then spent the night together and she expected it to be a one night stand but he called the following day. That was the started of their two year affair which began in 2005.
When asked about the recent accusations that she was working as an escort for a former Hollywood madam – she flatly denied them. She says “I’m obviously gonna bring my lawyer into this and make sure that whoever is making these accusations will pay for it, because that’s 100 percent false, I have nothing to do with prostitution and never have, never will. I never even heard the woman’s name.”
She was also asked if she owes Wood’s wife Elin Nordegren an apology to which she responded “No, I don’t. I feel like … that’s his business. Everybody makes mistakes. This wasn’t something that I did yesterday or a month ago or a year ago. This was years ago. I was younger. And I’m not saying that what I did then was right. But I’m certainly not gonna say that it was wrong.”
As soon as a video becomes available it will be added. Jamie Jungers sure does have some neck to go on national television and then to say she doesn’t owe Elin Nordegren an apology is even a bigger kick in the teeth.
