“This is not easy to say, but today will be my last morning as a regular co-host on Today,” said Curry, making it official after days of intense speculation.

She added, “I am so grateful, especially to all of you who watch… We often call ourselves a family, but you [viewers] are the real ‘Today Show’ family.”

Later she remarked, “I loved you, and I wanted to give you the world, and I still do.”

After discussing her new role as an NBC News super-correspondent and joking, “After all these years [on morning TV], I’m not even sure I can sleep in anymore,” Curry made perhaps her most wrenching statement.

“For all of you who saw me as a groundbreaker, I’m sorry I couldn’t carry the ball to the finish line,” said Curry, her voice breaking. “But man, I did try.”