“After such a lot of years, I want laughter in my life. I am so happy,” says Morales, who turned into introduced today as a new CBS forty eight Hours correspondent.

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As the cameras roll, Morales — who’s the show’s first ever Latina moderator — begins delivering a diffusion of fun, hot-button topics to discuss, which include lottery winners and lovely puppies.

The mom of tells PEOPLE: “It’s so thrilling because a chum of mine these days texted me, ‘Oh, I changed into looking the show and I see a lot more of your character now.

The Natalie I realize is what I am seeing.’” She keeps, “I love listening to that because when you’re at the information table, you tell the tale, however you do not simply ever customise otherwise you do not ever truely say, ‘This passed off to me,’ necessarily.”

Morales joined The Talk on Oct. 10, 2021, most effective 10 days after announcing the end of her tenure with NBC, wherein she served as a correspondent on Today, Dateline and Access Hollywood. She returned one ultimate time to NBC’s iconic Today studios in Rockefeller Center in New York City to sign off on the anchor table she as soon as referred to as home as the first Latina to co-host Today.

“Dear visitors … from the minute I stepped in front of the digicam and into your living rooms, I knew it became an honor to be a part of your morning lifestyle, the maximum sacred time,” she said.

“With you, I’ve had a the front row seat to moments that captured our hearts, moments I will for all time cherish as I witnessed records.”

But with things plenty lighter than the serious information she once blanketed for 22 years at Today, she feels proper at domestic finally displaying off who she honestly is at The Talk.

“You do not get that opportunity [on a morning news show],” she says. “You just supply the facts, so people get to see a aspect wherein you may be prone, when you can snort and be in hysterics, where you [are] almost crying on TV. It’s befell. Everything has happened to me on this closing 12 months of this show, so I think they see it’s the actual Natalie.

It’s now not that they didn’t see that before, however they see all sides of me that I assume being a information anchor didn’t always permit me to be.”

Another perk to the new activity is a later call time which means she has more possibility to for family bonding.

“I by no means should get up at 3 a.M. In the morning,” the Rutgers University alum jokes. “If I need to get up at three a.M., it is just to visit the rest room. It’s so excellent.

I get to head back to bed and sleep for any other 3, four hours. That’s, I assume, the fine part of this complete thing is.

Honestly, having time with my family more too due to the fact I don’t journey as plenty as I used to. I’m capable of be home.”

She adds, “My children are young adults and going via plenty of factors that young adults do, so being able to be there to ensure my youngest does his homework, and being capable of assist manual my oldest son into university, all of that has been key. I’m fortunate that I’ve been able to try this for the ultimate yr and a 1/2, two years.” Not only is she pleased to see her youngsters grow, she’s happy with the paintings she’s doing highlighting her history all through Hispanic Heritage Month.

On Tuesday, Morales — who’s of Puerto Rican and Brazilian descent — will take a seat down for an in-depth interview with Camille Vazquez, a fellow Latina and the lead attorney for Johnny Depp.

“It was thrilling, because right here’s any individual who became a celeb overnight, pretty much,” Morales says.

“She went from being attorney Camille Vasquez on Johnny Depp’s case, but she become one of the crew of legal professionals, [and went] to being the one with eight billion views on TikTok and having hashtag Camille for president be a trending factor.  I assume it’s extraordinary. She turned into like, ‘I got famous for just doing my job.’”

Morales has plenty to celebrate as she ends the display.

Not simplest is it almost her one-12 months-anniversary with The Talk, however she’s just been announced as a 48 Hours correspondent — all for the duration of Hispanic Heritage month.

Morales — who grew up as an “air pressure brat” in Panama, Spain and Brazil — jokes she may also toast her modern accomplishments with a highly spiced margarita, but tells PEOPLE: “I’m no longer huge on anniversaries, most effective because I consider in toughness.  I don’t look at 365 days, I study 10 years.

So inquire from me on my tenth anniversary, ‘How will you celebrate?’ Then I’ll be like, ‘Yeah, we are going to have a party.’ For now, she has her eyes on the on the spot destiny.

“I am very lots looking forward to expanding my function at CBS with the aid of contributing to the numerous news systems and to the original actual crime pioneer forty eight Hours,” she says.

“It’s an honor to sign up for some of the best journalists, and I am keen to keep to speak about the vital tales of our day.” The Talk airs weekdays at 2 p.M. ET on CBS.

— News Reel (@NewsReel247) October 3, 2022