Today hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Savannah Guthrie open up about ‘special bond’ with Hoda Kotb

Today’s show stars Jenna Bush Hager and Savannah Guthrie have revealed how they came together to ‘support’ their friend and co-host Hoda Kotb during her unexpected absence from the morning show.

Hoda, 58, returned to the NBC show on Monday and revealed that her three-year-old daughter, Hope Catherine, spent several days in ICU battling a “health issue,” prompting the star to take two weeks off. free from their work. .

Reflecting on her co-host’s long absence, Jenna revealed the surprising impact of not having her close friend by her side during that period of time.

Speaking to DailyMail.com at a party on Thursday to celebrate four years of her Today book club, Read With Jenna, the 41-year-old explained: “I know how much I adore her, I already knew that every day.” But when someone isn’t at work unexpectedly for a period of time, you realize how important they are to you.

Hoda (pictured with daughters Hope and Haley) was absent from work after her youngest son spent more than a week in ICU battling a “health issue”.

‘And I have three little babies like her, so my heart goes out completely to her. Hoda taking that time off shows how lucky we are to work in a place where we can take that time off. Also, I’m so happy that you heard how loved she is.

She continued: ‘People missed her because they loved her, I witnessed the incredible amount of well wishes she received from viewers who love our show. If only I made it clear that even though I missed her, so did everyone else watching.

Hoda’s return to the morning show came more than two weeks after her last studio appearance, an absence that caused great concern among viewers until her co-host, Craig Melvin, revealed that she had been dealing with “an issue of Family health”.

Hoda, who is also a mother to six-year-old daughter Haley Joy, first revealed that she had adopted Hope in April 2019.

In addition to receiving support from her co-workers, Hoda also received a large amount of well wishes from fans. On Instagram Tuesday, she wrote: ‘Thank you…for all the beautiful words and prayers from him. I have read them all. You have no idea how much it means to me and my family. I am so deeply moved.

Meanwhile, broadcaster Savannah, 51, shared similar sentiments as Jenna on how they came together to support her friend when she said, “As a team, we all support each other and that’s the way it should be.”

We are working these crazy hours that can be very stressful and also very fun. We have a special bond and it shows at times like this.

She continued: ‘I love our show and NBC because there’s never any question about being away from work for family. It’s always been, “How can we support you? Just take all the time you need.”

In fact, Savannah’s presence at the Read With Jenna celebration further highlighted the way the Today co-hosts show support for one another in all aspects of life.

Hoda’s absence caused great concern among viewers, with Jenna admitting that the surprise absence made her “realize how important” it was to her to have Hoda around.

Host Savannah, 51, shared similar sentiments to Jenna’s when she said, “As a team, we all support each other and that’s the way it should be.”

In addition to receiving support from her co-workers, Hoda also received a ton of well wishes from fans, whom she thanked on social media.

Jenna revealed her appreciation for the support of Savannah and her fellow NBC stars Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer at the event, continuing, “The most important thing to me is that I get to work in a place that I love and that I’m blessed.” do it with women who support each other.

The ladies came here tonight for me, at a time when they might be putting their children to bed.

Elsewhere, her twin sister, Barbara Bush, was also on hand for the evening, telling DailyMail.com: “I’m so proud of my sister.”

In fact, Barbara was moved to tears watching her sister give a heartfelt speech thanking her twin for sharing her love of books throughout their lives.

On Thursday, Jenna hosted a party to celebrate four years of her Today book club, Read With Jenna.

Looking back on the growth of her book club, Jenna told DailyMail.com: ‘The success of this club is beyond my wildest dreams. I have loved reading since I was a child and being surrounded by authors I admire is everything.

“Our mission is to debut diverse authors, the fact that so many of these books have hit the NYT bestseller list means they have changed their minds and opened their minds.”

She continued: “The fact that people fall in love with stories from different perspectives and from all walks of life (which we can see in sales) shows that people want this. They want to pull their chairs up to the table and sit together. I look forward to our future because of this.’

Today, 37 of Hager’s selections have become New York Times bestsellers. The star has now taken things to a new level after signing her first production deal with Universal Studio Group, where she will develop and produce both feature and television projects.

So far, 28 RWJ stories have been selected for television and film, and the presenter revealed her hope that this would “help double the audiences these stories reach.”