Jenna Bush Hager Shares What She'll Miss Most About Co-Hosting with Hoda Kotb: 'Almost Too Much to Bear' (Exclusive)

Jenna Bush Hager is saying goodbye to her partner in crime.

On Jan. 10, Hoda Kotb will mark her final day on NBC's Today show, where she co-hosts the 7-9 a.m. hours with Savannah Guthrie and the 10 a.m. hour with Bush Hager. And, after five years of Hoda & Jenna, Bush Hager admits her pal's departure has her feeling "very bittersweet."

"I adore Hoda. She's the best partner. She's been the most generous partner, and we are truly really great friends. The thought of her not being here is almost too much to bear. Obviously, I've had months to wrap my head around it, although I cannot promise that our last 'Hoda-bration' won't also be filled with tears," Bush Hager exclusively tells PEOPLE.

"I'm sure it will be just because I can't help it."

Related: Hoda Kotb Announces She Is Leaving Today Show After 17 Years to Focus on Her Kids: 'Right Decision but Painful'

For the past week leading up to Kotb's departure, Today has been hosting a "Hoda-bration" in Kotb's honor, culminating in one final live show on Jan. 10 at Rockefeller Center's Studio 8G.

The chemistry between the two is abundant, and it's also key. Kotb and Bush Hager undeniably have that je ne sais quoi in spades — a fact Bush Hager has never taken for granted.

"She asked me to host. Hoda did. I was Kathie Lee Gifford's fill-in. This was now maybe 15 years ago, and [Hoda] asked me to do it. I had never hosted an hour of television before. She saw something in me," Bush Hager recalls. "And it was easy. I remember it being easy with Hoda. That said, Hoda can make this job look easy for anybody."

With the launch of Today with Jenna & Friends on Jan. 13, Bush Hager will now redefine the show that's grown to be wholly hers. She's excited, and she's ready, she says, and what's more: she hopes to be the Hoda for the next person to take the seat.

"I hope to be as generous as she has been. Every joke that I say is funny because of Hoda. She tees me up. She knows how to light me up," says Bush Hager. "She is so positive. She is so joyful. She says thank you and please, and all the things that I want in a friend. She's kind and giving to every single person on our staff. And she knows that it's important — the tone she sets. I think we have set it together, but to know that that's on me is such a privilege and responsibility. I've learned from the best. And what big shoes to fill because her optimism is just beautiful."

Related: Today Show Moms Consider Themselves 'Sisters' in Motherhood: 'We Lean on Each Other' (Exclusive)

The advent of Jenna & Friends will bring with it a cast of rotating characters beside Bush Hager before they name a permanent cohost — which is a task the Today star is excited not to have to worry about just yet.

"We'll figure it out when the time comes," Bush Hager says, before landing on an apt analogy. "I was dumped once by a boy. I don't know what he was thinking. But I wasn't immediately like, 'Who's next on my roster?' I went out with a lot of different people. And by the way, I've been trying to make Hoda jealous with some Gayle talk and Oprah talk, but I'm just kidding. The point is that we're not quite in our let's-find-the-next-host era right away."

Instead, Bush Hager is committed to enjoying the show's new, fresh chapter, and she wants the audience to feel the same way.

Following Kotb's departure, however, Bush Hager says they've already begun penciling in time on each other's calendars "because truly, I actually don't know what I'm going to do without her. She's my first talk every single day. I leave my house too early, nobody's up. She is my therapy and all the things. So we have set dates because we need to for our friendship."

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Related: Hoda Kotb Tells Jenna Bush Hager She's 'Magic' as Today Show Co-Hosts Tearfully Discuss Hoda's Exit

As for whether or not Kotb will be tuning in to the 10 a.m. hour? Bush Hager almost hopes she doesn't.

"I'm sure she'll watch, but I also am wanting to be respectful, just like I was with the ex-boyfriend. I wasn't walking past his house harassing him like, 'Are you watching?'" she says with a laugh. "I might've been doing that in secret. But no, I think she'll probably walk her kids to school. I think she'll do all the things that she's choosing. And she should choose that."

Ultimately, as Kotb's departure draws near, Bush Hager is working on channeling all of her emotions, and while she celebrates her partner, she's also celebrating the deluge of feelings.

"I'm wildly excited. It's just so interesting for me because I'm a pretty one-emotion person. I'm not that complicated. I'm usually enthusiastic or excited or sad or whatever it is. So to feel a mixture of emotions is a new thing for me, which also makes it kind of cool. It says that this is going to be a big time in my life," she muses.

"I'm excited and nervous and thrilled, and I'm also really, really going to miss Hoda."

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