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'It turned so nasty': Meredith Vieira on the Today Show fiasco as she opens up about her husband's battle with multiple sclerosis

Published: 15:24 EST, 30 July 2014 | Updated: 17:02 EST, 30 July 2014

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She quit her job as co-anchor of NBC's Today Show in 2011.

Now Meredith Vieira has opened up about the fiasco that followed her departure from the morning show.

'That was such a bad time,' said the 60-year-old, referring to the now infamous ousting of her replacement Ann Curry, in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

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'It turned so nasty': Meredith Vieira opened up about the Today Show fiasco as she covers the latest issue of The Hollywood Reporter

Curry replaced Vieira as co-anchor on the NBC morning show in 2011, but was fired just a year later amid reports of a feud between her and Matt Lauer.

'I really felt for Matt a lot. And I felt for Ann, too,' she said. 'It turned so nasty, really nasty. Every day you’re reading this stuff that is just beyond cruel from angry, angry people who felt that Ann had been slighted and embarrassed and humiliated.

'And they basically pointed to one person on who to take out all of their anger. I don’t know if I would have survived that,' she added.

Radiant: The 60-year-old posed in jeans and a beige blouse in the accompanying photoshoot

Exciting venture: Vieira will be hosting her own talk show starting in September on NBC

Looking amazing: The veteran TV personality showed off her incredible figure in a high-waisted skirt paired with a denim shirt

But the veteran TV personality said she didn't offer her former co-anchor Lauer any advice.

'I just told him I loved him and I was there for him,' she said. 'But I never sugarcoated what had happened. I thought it had not been handled smartly from the very beginning, because I don’t think they ever felt that was the right fit for Ann so they should never have put her in that position to begin with.

'And then the ending was so mishandled. But you know what, s**t happens. People make mistakes. We all do,' she said.

'It was a bad time': The 60-year-old said she 'felt bad' for both Ann Curry and Matt Lauer, pictured hosting the show together

Thick as thieves: Vieira said she didn't give her former co-anchor Lauer advice, but rather just told him that she 'loved him'

Their star: Vieira helped keep the show top of the rating during her five-year tenure, but when she left it dropped to second place after Good Morning America

Vieira said she was ready to leave the Today Show when she did, after five years.

'I think they thought, "She’s not going to leave, it’s too much money" — which is a real incentive. Then I realized if I’m sticking around for that, there’s something wrong. If you don’t feel like doing the job, especially a job that’s that hard on your life, why keep doing it? I like being well-paid. But that’s never my incentive for jobs.'

Vieira has left every high profile job, including 60 Minutes and The View, on her own accord in order to look after her three children, who are now 25, 22 and 21.

'To me life is about priorities. You set the ones that work for you and you shouldn’t be judged,' she said.

High profile: Vieira has enjoyed a dazzling career, including presenting Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (pictured) and as co-host on The View

Vieira also opened up about caring for her husband of 28 years, Richard M. Cohen, who has battled with multiple scleoris since his twenties.

'Richard's very independent. Stubbornly so. I think that's one of the reasons he's done as well as he has,' she said.

'He lived in denial for a really long time, until he couldn't anymore. He needed a cane. His eyesight is so compromised, he's legally blind. And that's hard for a writer. But we're a team. That's the way I see it. We take care of each other.'

'We're a team': Vieira also opened up about caring for her husband of 28 years, Richard M. Cohen, who battles multiple sclerosis

Vieira is now focusing on her new talk show, which will debut September 8 on NBC at the slightly awkward 2pm time slot.

'It's a big responsibility to carry a show,' she admitted.

But she said she's excited to return to daytime television.

'People desperately want to connect with other people,' she said. 'And when you're on daytime, it's a different thing. They see you as their friend or their mom or their grandmother. I missed that.'