Hoda Kotb’s “Today” departure has left all of her colleagues in tears — especially Savannah Guthrie.
“No one is taking the news worse than Savannah Guthrie,” Craig Melvin, 45, said in a clip shared to X by the morning talk show.
“I know, I know,” weatherman Al Roker, 70, replied, before Sheinelle Jones, 46, quipped, “Let’s just show everybody the reality of what we are dealing with.”
The camera pans to Guthrie, 52, who co-anchors the first two hours of the news show with Kotb, sitting across from the trio eating food with a bottle of rosé next to her.
“That was a full bottle of Whisper Angel, and now …” Roker joked as Melvin and Jones shared a laugh.
Guthrie kept a straight face as she continued to eat off two separate plates.
Roker went over to the journalist and said, “Let me top that off,” as he poured some more rosé into Guthrie’s glass.
“We love her so much,” Guthrie responded. “And as you said Sheinelle, we can hold our sorrow of missing her and loving her so much with our gratitude that it happened.”
“I always tell my kids, don’t be sorry it’s over, be glad that it happened,” she continued. “And just the joy and admiration of her bravery.”
“But this is what I want people to know, and I think people know it at home,” Jones added, “We really are a family so at the end of the day we’re still going to be in her life, in her house, but Hoda has a relationship with each and every one of us that is so special.”
Roker echoed his co-anchor’s sentiments, sharing, “In a family, people move on, you think about what it means for us but what it means for that person and we couldn’t be happier for her.”
“Sad news for us, great news for her,” Melvin noted.
The correspondents also turned their love onto Guthrie who said, “I love you too and we’re just having fun like we do ‘Today show’ style. I am so proud of her.”
“The two of you have been such trail-blazers,” Jones told her friend. “With two sisters having a national morning show, you guys changed the game and now it’s kind of normal!”
“I love her so much,” Guthrie said while becoming emotional. “And like I always say, Hoda, hold hands and I’ll go anywhere with you. And I will always be by her side whether we’re sitting there or we’re sitting in lazy boys on the porch in our old age.”
In another sweet segment that aired Thursday, the former attorney was so overwhelmed with emotion that her false eyelashes came loose, which led to a hilarious moment between herself, Kotb, 60, Roker and Jones.
“Here’s my lash,” Guthrie told Kotb, as she handed one over to her live on-air.
Kotb then gave viewers at home a close-up of the false lash.
Guthrie teasingly attempted to pass the lash to Jones, who chimed in, “That is disgusting!” and jumped out of the way, laughing.
“I don’t want to hold a lash, that’s okay,” Roker said before launching into his own report.
Kotb shared Thursday morning that she is ready “to turn the page” in her life, which includes an early-2025 departure from the show as Guthrie’s co-anchor since 2018, 17 years on “Today” and 26 at NBC.
During the sit-down with their 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 also, I just want to say I am so proud of my friend,” she continued. “You have guts. For someone to leave at the top of their game — to leave something that’s wonderful, 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 so much guts.”
Guthrie also took to social media, posting an Instagram reel from the morning broadcast.
“Oh, Hoda. All the tears for you,” she captioned her post. “For love and joy and above all, gratitude for this beautiful soul, who has light, warmth, goodness and faith – in abundance. I love you with all my heart, dearest Hoda. We will always be by each other’s side.”