Hoda Kotb returned to Today on Monday, telling viewers that her extended absence was due to her three-year old daughter’s health issue.
“My youngest Hope was in the ICU for a few days, in the hospital for a little more than a week,” Kotb said at the start of the broadcast. “I am so grateful she is home. She is back home. I was waiting for that day to come, and we are watching her closely. I am just so happy.”
Kotb was joined by co-host Savannah Guthrie, who herself was off the show after learning on Tuesday that she tested positive for Covid. That forced Guthrie to leave during the show’s live taping.
Kotb’s last live appearance was on Feb. 17. She also appeared on Feb. 20 on the fourth hour of Today with Jenna Bush Hager, but that was pre-recorded to air on Presidents Day. Last week, after come coverage of Kotb’s absence from the show, Craig Melvin told viewers that she was dealing with a family health matter.
Kotb did not disclose the nature of her daughter’s illness, but told Guthrie, “You know what I realized too, Savannah, is when your child is ill, the amount of gratitude that you have for the people who helped you out. And so I am grateful for the doctors at Weill Cornell who were amazing and the nurses and I’m grateful to my family and to friends like you who were there every single day. So i want to I want to say you for that. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Guthrie said. “You have a lot of friends out there.”
More to come.