Savannah Guthrie Breaks Down About Returning to Today

Savannah Guthrie returned to the “Today” show this week and, speaking with co-host Jenna Bush Hager, tearfully described how hard it is to keep working while her mother Nancy remains missing. Guthrie said she cries on the way to and from the studio every day,

Savannah Guthrie walked back into the “Today” show routine while grief still followed her off-camera. Monday’s return came with tears, and in a conversation with her friend and co-host Jenna Bush Hager, she didn’t try to tidy up what returning has cost.

Guthrie told Hager it’s “really hard to come back,” admitting, “It’s not easy.” She said she’s been working to “hold it together,” and that seeing Hager each morning helps—until it also becomes too much.

“When I see you in the morning, I know that you see me no matter what is going on,” Guthrie said. “Sometimes that’s almost too much because I feel like, to do the job, I got to keep it together.”

She added that she is happy to be back, and that the two hours of her day are something to anchor her—even though she’s still thinking about her mother during the show. “It brings me a lot of joy to be with everybody,” Guthrie said. “But no, it’s not easy.”

Hager, who noted that she and all of the “Today” co-hosts feel like a real “family,” drew out the deeper reason Guthrie believes she should return. Guthrie said she thinks her mother would have wanted her to keep going.

“I don’t think if I had any other kind of job I would have even tried to come back,” Guthrie said. “But I just felt like, ‘Well, what else should I do?’ And my mom would have said the same, like, ‘Honey, just keep going,’ and so I am.”

For viewers who may wonder how someone can sit at a desk and smile while a personal nightmare is still unfolding, Guthrie made her answer plain. She said she never stops thinking about Nancy.

“I know maybe people wonder like, ‘Well, what’s going on?. How is she able to do that job?. Is she not thinking about it?. Did she forget?’ No, never. Never,” Guthrie said. “It’s always, always with me. I cry every morning on the way to work and I cry every morning on the way home. and I’m grateful to have good friends and to be able to come to such a beautiful and joyous and supportive place.”.

In the conversation, she also spoke to the example she’s trying to set for her kids. “You can hold all of these things together,” Guthrie concluded. “I try to tell my kids that, too. ‘We can hold our sadness and we can hold our joy, and if you don’t believe it, just watch me. I’m gonna show you.’”

Guthrie’s return is closely tied to who was filling in where. She was brought on to co-host the fourth hour of the “Today” show with Hager in place of Hager’s usual co-host of the hour. Sheinelle Jones. Hager and Jones typically helm the daytime program’s fourth hour, titled “Today with Jenna & Sheinelle,” together. Guthrie revealed Monday that Hager has been trying to get her to fill in for Jones during days when the latter has been absent.

“It’s hard when you’re with your best friend to not be real,” Guthrie said. “So I was a little afraid in a way to do this show with you. You’ve asked me before, which is so sweet. I’m like. ‘Oh. I don’t know if I’m ready. ’ because I couldn’t look at you in this kind of setting where we just talk about life and not tell the truth about my life.’”.

The heartbreak at the center of Guthrie’s tearful return is tied to Nancy’s disappearance. Nancy was last seen on the evening of Jan. 31 when she was dropped off at her Tuscon, Ariz. home. She was reported missing the next day on Feb. 1. Local authorities believe she was taken from her home against her will. No one has yet been arrested in relation to her disappearance.

Guthrie’s full, tearful chat with Hager is available in a video posted for viewers.

Savannah Guthrie Jenna Bush Hager Today show Nancy Guthrie missing mother Tuscon Arizona Sheinelle Jones Today with Jenna & Sheinelle daytime TV celebrity news