Hoda Kotb can’t help but praise “strong, courageous, beautiful human” Savannah Guthrie as the search for her mom, Nancy Guthrie, continues.
“She feels deep, searing pain, and she shows up,” Kotb, 61, told Us Weekly exclusively at Sheinelle Jones‘ Through Mom’s Eyes book launch at Double Knot NYC on Wednesday, April 15. “She’s showing that both things can be true.”
Kotb continued, “Some pain you carry, you’re not going to explain it away. You just have to go through life with it right in your pocket, and that’s what she’s doing. She’s doing it in a way that I’ve never seen anyone do it before.”
Kotb returned to the Today show earlier this week to cohost with Savannah, 54, while Craig Melvin is on vacation.
“When Savannah first walked on the set on Monday of this week, when I was there, she looked at me and she goes, ‘What is this, April of 2025?’” Kotb recalled. “Then she held me and didn’t let go.”
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Kotb added, “I’ve literally been marveling at how she navigates [this].”
Savannah returned to the Today show earlier this month following a two-month hiatus after news broke on February 1 that her mom, Nancy, had gone missing. The search for Nancy continues in Arizona.
Over the past few months, Savannah has taken to social media with several messages to fans, explaining how faith has played a major role in getting her through these difficult times.
“Savannah has demonstrated how powerful prayer is. How it’s important for everybody to get on your knees on the good days and the bad days, just to be there,” Kotb explained to Us. “It’s the thing that makes you wake up in the morning. Without it, how are you navigating your days?”
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Jenna Bush Hager chimed in when discussing the importance of prayer.
“Sometimes when things that are so horrific and unexpected happen, that’s the only place you can go,” she told Us. “I know how lucky I am to have people that would lift me up if I need them, and vice versa, but in those moments, you also need something more.”
Kotb also reflected on Savannah’s Today return on April 6, revealing that watching her longtime friend and former coworker walking “out on the plaza” at 30 Rock alongside Bush Hager, 44, is a “beautiful image” that is “seared in my memory.”
“It showed love, support and also Savannah’s vulnerability,” Kotb said.
