As Jennifer Coffey prepared to say goodbye to QVC after 13 years, she couldn’t help but resonate with Hoda Kotb’s decision to leave Today.
“I think of Hoda a lot and her departure and I’m thinking she’s probably going through a similar thing where she has her network of people and her family there that she had seen every single day, but for the most part, it was the camera,” Coffey exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, February 5. “Her connection to millions of people happened digitally and virtually. Now, I find myself engaging in more, like, ‘How’s your day’ conversations with people that I didn’t see on a regular basis outside of QVC.”
On December 31, 2024, Coffey hosted her final show on QVC after being part of the shopping network for 13 years. She chose to leave to pursue “new adventures” such as launching “The Phoenix” podcast and opening The Phoenix Yoga Studio in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
Kotb, meanwhile, said goodbye to the Today show in January after nearly 30 years with NBC News to spend more quality time with her kids, Hayley, 7, and Hope, 5. She is also working on her own wellness company comprising an app, podcast and retreats.
While Kotb said goodbye to early morning wakeups, Coffey said farewell to a job that included unusual work hours, such as launching a Today’s Special Value at midnight.
“[Hoda] was on an evening talk show and the host said, ‘I’m so blown away that you’re leaving at essentially the top of your game,’ and she kind of nodded,” Coffey recalled. “And then the host said, ‘We’ll see how you feel in a month.’ And everybody laughed. I was like, ‘Wait! No, I can tell you how it’s going to feel in a month, and I can tell you that it feels amazing.’”
While there are countless elements of the QVC job Coffey misses, she thinks of herself and Kotb as “kindred spirits in the sense that our journey has been very similar.”
“I remember as an adolescent and teen watching Hoda as an anchor in New Orleans because I grew up in New Orleans and she was Hoda Kotb on the evening news,” Coffey explained. “Just to watch her rise has been amazing, but I imagine she’s probably doing the same thing I am 1738910707, which is living her best life and embracing all these moments.”
Kotb previously shared on Today that she had a core group of girlfriends — including close friend Maria Shriver — she consulted with about her next move.
Coffey said she too had a “ride or die” crew made up of her husband, Davinder Athwal, daughter Gabby and some close friends at QVC including fellow hosts Mary DeAngelis, Julia Cearley, Mary Beth Roe, Rachel Boesing and Ali Carr.
One friend who was extra helpful was fellow QVC host Kerstin Lindquist, who started at the network at the same time as Coffey and will be leaving this month after 13 years.
“We love each other so much,” Coffey said. “We were often talking about, ‘Is this the time?’ and ‘What are you going to do?’ and ‘Are you scared because I’m scared?’ It really, really helped to have her have those conversations.”
Some QVC shoppers can’t help but make a connection with some of the network’s products — and hosts. Over the years, viewers have developed close bonds with longtime program hosts who have a gift of selling everything from fashion and beauty products to food and electronics. Every so often, some of the program hosts decide […]
As Coffey continues to follow her passions, she applauds Lindquist, Kotb and other women for following their hearts and doing what’s best for their lives.
“I’m glad that more people and women in particular are making those choices of big leaps at times that maybe aren’t predictable,” she said. “You don’t have to wait until you’re retiring to make a change, and you don’t have to wait until a job feels bad to leave it. And it seems crazy when you say it because why would you leave if you love it? But if you feel that pull in your heart, and if we all dial into it, we know what that feeling feels like. That pull, I believe, is there for a reason, and it is uncomfortable to make that leap. But then when you do, you facepalm because you’re like, ‘Gosh, why didn’t I do it sooner?’”
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