Hoda Kotb returned to the “Today” show after spending a few weeks with her 3-year-old daughter, Hope, who was in the ICU for a few days.
“My youngest, Hope, was in the ICU for a few days and in the hospital for a little more than a week,” Hoda, who has been with NBC News since 1998, said at the start of the show. “I’m so grateful she’s home…I was waiting for that day to come. And we are watching her closely. I’m just so happy.”
She continued: “You know what I realized, too, Savannah? When your child is ill, the amount of gratitude you can have for people who helped you out. I’m grateful for the doctors at Weill Cornell who were amazing and the nurses.”
Though she didn’t reveal what Hope was suffering from, she went on to thank her friends and family for their continued support.
“I’m grateful to 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,” she said to co-host Savannah Guthrie.
“I love you, too,” Guthrie replied, as the pair held hands. “You have a lot of friends out there who are right here with you and lifting you up.”
Kotb’s absence was first pointed out Wednesday by “Today” co-anchor Craig Melvin.
“A whole lot of you have been wondering how she’s doing, we can tell you that Hoda is OK. She’s got a family health matter she has been dealing with,” he said.
Kotb’s absence overlapped with Guthrie’s break as well, as the co-host tested positive for COVID-19 on Feb. 28 and had to abruptly leave the anchor desk in the middle of the day’s broadcast.
Watch the full exchange in the embed above.
