Today’s Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones are happy to have Savannah Guthrie back in studio 1A after her absence amid the ongoing search for mom Nancy Guthrie.
“We’ve had a really lovely morning here,” Bush Hager, 44, said on the Monday, April 6, episode of Today With Jenna & Sheinelle, while Jones, 47, noted that the day has “felt like a homecoming.”
Bush Hager continued, “Savannah is back, and we have just embraced her with open arms. She said, ‘It is good to be home,’ and we feel that sentiment a million times over.”
Footage began playing of Bush Hager and Savannah, 54, linked arm in arm as they walked out to the Today show plaza and greeted fans.
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“It’s so interesting because, for most of us, we have been doing this for decades, and so there’s muscle memory involved. But then there’s also the reality of what’s happening,” Jones said. “And so I feel like, for me, I’m like, ‘You know what, I love her. She’s such a professional. But also, her heart is right there.’ We felt both this morning. We felt her heart, and also she’s so darn good.”
Bush Hager, who called Savannah “the bravest,” noted that the Today coanchor spoke at their church on Sunday, April 5, and delivered a “beautiful message about Easter and faith and forgiveness.”
“They played it on the radio this morning. On the drive in, I listen to morning news radio — because you know, I’m an old lady — and they played a lot of Savannah’s words. And I’m with Jenna. It’s worth it to listen to because Savannah has a way with words. She’s almost a poet in my mind. So there’s honesty there, there’s intellect there, there’s truth there. Just all of it,” Jones said, while Bush Hager added, “It’s beautiful.”
Savannah returned to the Today show on Monday, two months after news broke that Nancy, 84, had been reported missing by a family member who called 911. Savannah wore a yellow dress, with the color representing hope amid the ongoing search for Nancy. (Savannah’s Today colleagues have worn yellow ribbons daily to show their support.)
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“Welcome to Today on this Monday morning. We are so glad you started your week with us, and it is good to be home,” Savannah said at the beginning of the broadcast, while coanchor Craig Melvin added, “Yes, it is good to have you back at home.”
“Well, here we go, ready or not, let’s do the news,” Savannah said, while Melvin, 46, replied, “So good to have you back.”
