She was worried about her baby. Hoda Kotb took a leave of absence from Today when her three-year-old daughter Hope was in the ICU.
“Hoda had been terrified for Hope the last couple of weeks,” a source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly. “Hoda has dropped everything and focused on being there for her youngest — by her hospital bed — and taking care of anything she could need. Hope is better now and recovering at home.”
Throughout the difficult period, the broadcast journalist, 58, had the support of her ex-fiancé, Joel Schiffman with whom she has Hope, and elder daughter Haley, 6, and co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, according to the source.
“Joel has been by their side as well,” the source said of the financier, who split from Kotb in December 2021 after eight years together. “Savannah [and Hoda] are truly great friends on and off camera and Savannah was constantly checking in and seeing how she could help in any way.”
Fans were worried when Kotb left Today for a long period of time in February. On March 1, substitute anchors Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones explained her absence after the Oklahoma native had been off the air for more than a week.
“We know a lot of you have been wondering how she’s doing. We can tell you that Hoda’s OK. She’s got a family health matter that she’s been dealing with, so we look forward to seeing Hoda and Savannah back at the desk real, real soon,” Melvin, 43, explained during the program.
On Monday, March 6, Kotb returned to the morning talk show and discussed her daughter’s health crisis.
“My youngest [daughter], Hope, was in the ICU for a few days and in the hospital for a little more than a week,” the Emmy winner told Guthrie, 51. “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.”
The former Dateline NBC reporter also thanked her family and friends for their support during her family’s crisis.
“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,” she said, getting choked up. “And I’m grateful to my family.”
The This Just Speaks to Me author then directly addressed Guthrie. “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 emphasized.