Hoda Kotb has returned to the Today show after two weeks, with the journalist revealing that she was absent from her anchoring duties because her three-year-old daughter Hope was in the hospital.
Viewers began to question Kotb’s whereabouts after she was noticeably absent from the show since 17 February. Amid concern for the news anchor, Kotb’s colleagues Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones said during a 1 March broadcast that she was dealing with “a family health matter”.
“We know some of you are wondering how she’s doing,” Melvin said during the broadcast. “We can tell you, Hoda’s okay. She’s got a family health matter she’s been dealing with.”
On Monday 6 March, Kotb revealed during her return to the show that her youngest daughter Hope had been in the ICU, but that the three year old was now home.
“My youngest, Hope, was in the ICU for a few days and in the hospital for a little more than a week,” the Emmy-winning journalist told co-host Savannah Guthrie at the beginning of Monday’s broadcast. “I’m so grateful she’s home. She is back home. I was waiting for that day to come. And we are watching her closely. I’m just so happy.”
An emotional Kotb then expressed her gratitude for all those who helped her daughter and provided support for her family during the scary experience.
“You know what I realised too, Savannah? It’s like, when your child is ill, the amount of gratitude you can have for people who helped you out,” she said. “So I’m grateful for the doctors at Weill Cornell, who were amazing and the nurses. And I’m grateful for 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.”
In response, Guthrie told her co-host: “I love you too. You have a lot of friends out there. We are right there with you, lifting you up and holding you. So let’s do this.”
Kotb, who adopted Hope in April 2019, is also mother to six-year-old daughter Haley Joy, who she adopted in February 2017.
Although Kotb has not shared any additional details about her daughter’s health concerns, she shared a message of hope on Instagram, where she posted a quote by Christopher Reeve that read: “Once you choose hope, anything is possible.”
Kotb’s return to the Today show has been met with an outpouring of happiness from viewers, with many also taking the opportunity to share their well-wishes for the news anchor’s daughter.
“So happy to see your face. Praying for Hope’s continued recovery,” one person commented under Kotb’s Instagram post, while another wrote: “So good to see you back on the show today! My baby boy and I are sending our thoughts and prayers to you and your little girl. As a new mom, I can’t imagine seeing your little one unwell. So glad she is back home with her ,ama and sister. Sending love and light!”
“So happy to hear your daughter is home. So happy you are back,” someone else wrote.
