After a two-week absence, Hoda Kotb is finally back anchoring the Today show. The Emmy award winner, who co-anchors the NBC morning news show with Savannah Guthrie and hosts Today’s fourth hour alongside Jenna Bush Hage, hasn’t been seen on the network since February 17.
Journalists Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones told audiences on March 1 that Kotb was dealing with “a family health matter.” That was all that was known about the situation until now.
On Monday, Kotb returned to the desk and explained why she was away. Her daughter, Hope Catherine, 3, had health complications that landed her in the Intensive care unit and the hospital.
“My youngest, Hope, was in the ICU for and then in the hospital for a little over a week,” Kotb shared with Guthrie. “I’m so grateful she’s home. She is back home. I was waiting for that day to come, and we are watching her closely.”
“You know what I realized too, Savannah? It’s like, when your child is ill, the amount of gratitude you can have for people who helped you out,” Kotb also said. “So I’m grateful for the doctors at Weill Cornell who were amazing and the nurses. And I’m grateful for my family, and I’m grateful to friends like you who were there every single day. So I want to say thank you for that. I love you.”
Kotb provided no further information about her daughter’s hospitalization.
Guthrie, who also was absent from Today for several days following a positive COVID-19 test on February 28, held her co-anchor’s hand and offered support as she spoke.
“I love you too,” Guthrie stated.” You have a lot of friends out there. We are right there with you, lifting you up and holding you. So let’s do this.”
“It’s nice to have you right back where you belong,” she noted earlier in the broadcast.
During Kotb’s time away from Today, she was active on social media, sharing insights into her headspace at the time.
On February 27, she posted a graphic that read, “Choose Hope.”
Several comments on that post suggested that they were praying for Kotb and hoping everything was okay. Kotb is no stranger to posting images like the one above to her social media accounts. However, she’s been doing so more often recently.
The Today Show crew has had their fair share of illnesses recently. As Mamas Uncut previously stated, their colleague Al Roker struggled with a lengthy illness at the end of last year.
According to a statement he released on his personal Instagram page, Roker revealed he had a recent health scare that landed him in the hospital. Alongside a picture of a bouquet of flowers, Roker shared a few more details.
“So many of you have been thoughtfully asking where I’ve been,” Roker began. “Last week, I was admitted to the hospital with a blood clot in my leg which sent some clots into my lungs.”
“After some medical whack-a-mole, I am so fortunate to be getting terrific medical care and on the way to recovery. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers and hope to see you soon. Have a great weekend, everyone.”
Thankfully Roker’s health has improved, and he is back on the show. Mamas Uncut will update this article as new information regarding Guthrie and Kotb’s absences becomes available.