Billy Bush: Kathie Lee and Hoda raise a glass 'Today' host's departure

Billy Bush may not have been physically present on Monday’s Today show, but he wasn’t far from his colleagues’ minds, as both Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb raised their wine glasses in farewell to their now-former co-worker.

The NBC morning show hosts kicked off the Today show’s fourth hour by bidding Bush goodbye.

“He was so much fun to be around, always up for anything. A real team player,” said Gifford about Bush’s time with the show. “We’re really going to miss him. Our thoughts and prayers go to him and his family.”

For her part, Kotb brought up the time Bush served as her co-host, before adding, “We just want Billy to know, and everybody, that we wish him nothing but the best.”

NBC News announced Monday that Bush was leaving the network following the release of a 2005 video in which the former Access Hollywood host and GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump made graphic remarks about women. Bush was suspended from Today last week.

See video of the goodbye over at Jezebel.