Hoda Kotb's “Today” ’s departure has left all of his co-workers in tears — especially Savannah Guthrie.
“No one is taking the news worse than Savannah Guthrie,” Craig Melvin, 45, said in a statement. The clip was shared from X by morning talk shows.
“I know, I know,” meteorologist Al Roker, 70, responded, after which Sheinelle Jones, 46, quipped, “Let's just show everyone the reality of what we're dealing with.”
The camera focuses on Guthrie, 52, who co-anchors the first two hours of the news show with Kotb, and who sits across from the three eating dinner and holding a bottle of rose water.
“That was a whole bottle of Whisper Angel, and now…” Roker joked, and Melvin and Jones began to laugh.
Guthrie kept a straight face and continued eating from two separate plates.
Roker walked up to the reporter and said, “Let me put some more in this,” and he poured some more rosé into Guthrie's glass.
“We love him so much,” Guthrie replied. “And as you said, Sheinelle, we can only express our sadness at losing him and our gratitude at loving him so much that this happened.”
“I always tell my kids, don't be sad about what happened, be happy that it happened,” she added. “And be happy and appreciative of her bravery.”
“But that's the thing I want people to know, and I think people at home know this,” Jones said, “we truly are a family, so at the end of the day we'll still be in her life, in her home, but Hoda has a relationship with every single one of us that's very special.”
Roker echoed his co-anchor's sentiments, adding, “In a family, people move on, you think what does it mean to us but what does it mean to that person and we couldn't be happier for them.”
“Sad news for us, good news for him,” Melvin said.
The reporters also showered their love on Guthrie, who said, “I love you, too, and we're having fun, 'Today Show' style. I'm so proud of her.”
“You two did an amazing job,” Jones told her friend. “You two changed the game by having two sisters doing a nationally televised morning show and now it’s kind of the norm!”
“I love her so much,” Guthrie said, getting emotional. “And like I always say, Hoda, hold hands and I'll go anywhere with you. And I'll always be with her whether we're sitting there or sitting on the porch singing Lazy Boys into our old age.”
In another sweet segment that aired Thursday, the former lawyer was so overwhelmed with emotion that her false eyelashes popped off, leading to a hilarious moment between her, Kotb, 60, Roker and Jones.
“This is my whip,” Guthrie told Kotb when he handed her one during the live broadcast.
Kotb then showed the viewers at home a close-up of the fake whipping.
Guthrie teasingly attempted to swing the whip at Jones, who exclaimed, “That's disgusting!” and laughed and moved out of the way.
“I don't want to catch a wink, it's fine,” Roker said before beginning his report.
Kotb shared Thursday morning that she is ready to “turn the page” on her life, which includes her 2018 departure from the show in early 2025, 17 years on “Today” and 26 years at NBC as Guthrie’s co-anchor.
During a meeting with her co-anchors, Guthrie told Kotb, “Hoda, we love you so much. And when you look around and see these tears, they're love. You are so loved … We don't want to imagine this place without you.”
“But at the same time, I just want to say I'm so proud of my friend,” she continued. “You have guts. To leave someone at the top of their game — to leave something that's amazing, that you love, where it's easy and comfortable and beautiful and fun and say, 'But I dream even bigger for myself,' into the great unknown, you have a lot of guts.”
Guthrie also posted on social media An Instagram reel From the morning broadcast.
“Oh, Hoda. All the tears for you,” he wrote on his post. “For the love and happiness and most of all, gratitude for this beautiful soul who has light, warmth, goodness and faith – in abundance. I love you with all my heart, sweet Hoda. We will always have each other.”
