Fans of the TODAY show quickly noticed that co-anchor Hoda Kotb was missing. Weeks went by, but no specifics were given about where she was or why she wasn’t on the show. Her ominous Instagrams posts didn’t reassure fans either.

Eventually on TODAY, Jenna Bush Hager explained away Kotb’s absence by saying that it was a “family health matter,” and that Kotb herself was okay.

While Kotb may have been physically okay, emotionally she was struggling. It turns out that Kotb’s mysterious absence from the morning show was because her daughter was in the hospital.

Kotb returned to TODAY on March 6, 2023, and she explained a little bit more about why she was gone and how her daughter is doing right now. She started by explaining that the person in her family who had the health scare was her 3-year-old daughter, Hope.

She shared that her daughter Hope spent over a week in the hospital and the first few days of her hospital stay were in the ICU. She described the experience as “scary.” Now, Hope is finally back home which means Kotb is back at work. Kotb described her relief by saying, “I’m over the moon that she’s home.”

Kotb says she learned that there are people who really care and support others, for example, the nurses and doctors who cared for her daughter at the hospital. She also admitted that she wasn’t living the gratitude that she usually expresses because of how afraid she was about her daughter’s condition. Then, she checked herself and realized she has a lot to be grateful for. She said, “Sometimes you talk about gratitude, but then when you’re pushed to the limit you’re like, ‘Do I feel it?'”

Hager responded to Kotb story by saying about her daughter, “You named her Hope for a reason.”

Kotb realized that before her daughter’s hospital stay she didn’t really know what it was like for a parent when their child is very sick. She explained that “until you’re sitting in that position” it’s hard to understand, and now she realizes that.

Kotb also expressed thanks to all of her fans, followers and TODAY show viewers who expressed concern about her absence from the show. Jenna said that even her mom asked her, “Where is Hoda?”

Watch the video below to see Kotb explain her absence from TODAY.

On Instagram, Kotb also took a moment to thank her fans for their concern and well wishes.

 

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Kotb didn’t share details about why her daughter was in the hospital.