TODAY Anchor Natalie Morales Leaving NBC After 22 Years

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TODAY anchor Natalie Morales announced on Friday that she is leaving NBC News after 22 years.

“I struggle to find the right words and there are way too many people I need to thank for a wonderful career at NBC News,” Morales said in an internal memo, according to the network. “I think back to my early days cutting my teeth at (NBC affiliate) WVIT in Hartford, CT then taking the huge and — at the time — petrifying leap to MSNBC and alas — scoring the golden tickets to the TODAY show and ‘Dateline.'”

Morales was an anchor on MSNBC from 2002-2006, before she joined TODAY as a national correspondent. She worked as a news anchor and co-host of the show’s third hour prior to becoming TODAY’s West Coast anchor in 2016. In 2020, she took on an additional role as a correspondent for Dateline.

“It’s very hard to say goodbye… and we all know in this business it’s never goodbye but see you later,” she wrote in the memo. “I’m eternally grateful for the support and deep friendships that will remain no matter where our paths lead. I have so much to be thankful for and for every one of you who helped me get here… muchísimas gracias mis amigos.”

Morales said she is leaving “to spread my own wings and to pursue a new adventure,” but did not specify where she was headed. However, multiple outlets reported on Friday that the anchor is allegedly off to CBS’ “The Talk.” 

According to NBC, Morales will remain a correspondent for Dateline through the end of the year, and will receive a farewell tribute on The TODAY Show in the coming weeks.