On June 18, fans of Today said goodbye to a much-loved anchor. Star of Early Today, Frances Rivera, had announced weeks prior that she would be leaving NBC to retire, and her co-stars made sure that their "dear friend and colleague" had the send off she deserved.
After her final ever day at work, Frances joined the Today team outside on the plaza, where they gave her a big shoutout. The moment - which can be viewed in the footage above - was shared by Frances on social media, who wrote alongside the video: "I did a thing... I retired."
© Getty ImagesSheinelle Jones introduced Frances out on the plaza, telling the crowd: "You see this woman here in the beautiful hot pink suit, we want to take a moment to recognise our dear friend and colleague, Frances Rivera, as she's leaving her position as anchor of Early Today. She has been doing Early Today for 12 years - that means a lot of late nights, very early mornings."
© NBCCraig Melvin went on to say: "She's been in the business for 30 years and she's going to spend more time with her family, her husband Stuart - who is here—and her kids, Tessa and Laz who are here as well. She's hopefully going to get a little more sleep."
Dylan Dreyer then turned to Frances to reminise about their early days working together. "You were part of my origin story, we worked together in Boston. You were the main anchor, I did mornings, I love working with you."
