Hoda Kotb is always showing up for Savannah Guthrie, no matter the time or place.
Days before surprising her former "Today" show colleague with a visit to NBC's studios at New York's famed Rockefeller Center on Tuesday, Sept. 29, Kotb spent the weekend at her wellness company Joy 101's Fall Retreat in Amelia Island, Fla., which USA TODAY attended as the exclusive news outlet.
While there, Kotb praised Guthrie's resilience amid her mother's disappearance. Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing from her home near Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 1. The investigation remains active, with officials revealing on Monday, Sept. 28 that they're looking into a new alleged ransom note.
“When I think about Savannah, I think about her words, which are, ‘We won't rest
until we have answers,'" Kotb, 62, told USA TODAY on Sunday, Sept. 27. “She's not resting. She is incredible. She is spiritual. She is an awesome mom, an awesome wife, an incredible sister [to siblings Camron and Annie Guthrie], and an awesome daughter. So I think for her to be in this loop has to be grueling.”
It's not just Kotb who is in awe of Guthrie. At March’s Joy 101 retreat held in Scottsdale, Kotb recalls many women coming up to her. "They were just like, ‘Listen to me. You tell Savannah that we're praying for her. You tell her,'" she says.
There was also another woman Kotb knows, afflicted by her own mother’s “terrible medical situation,” who told Kotb that she wept after seeing Guthrie on TV and then felt able to get dressed and go into work. Without seeing Guthrie on television, Kotb's friend wasn't sure she could've pushed through.
“So the inspiration that she's giving," Kotb said, "through all of it, to me, is immeasurable, and it seems so unusual to say that in the midst of this horrible thing.”
“I love her dearly. I want to soothe her and help her, like her other friends do,” Kotb added. “And we can't. But the only thing, I think, as friends and anyone who's going through anything is just to be present and be around when they need you.”
Kotb, who exited "Today" in 2025 to pursue her wellness company, returned to anchor “Today” in February, while Guthrie took leave from the morning program. The next month, Kotb lead a tearful interview, in which Guthrie spoke about the family’s nightmare and agony. Guthrie vowed, despite her torment, to “not fall apart. I will not let whoever did this take my children’s mother from them. I will not let them take my joy.”
“She's not allowing them to take what she has in her,” Kotb said. “She's raising her kids [Vale, 12, and Charles, 9]. She's doing all of the things that she does, and she's not allowing it. And she's not resting. Both things are actually true.”
Kotb joined Guthrie as her co-anchor in 2018, replacing an ousted Matt Lauer and marking the show’s first female leading duo since its debut in 1952. Kotb arrived at the network in 1998 as a correspondent for “Dateline” after signing off from New Orleans’ CBS affiliate, telling viewers that “when you get a chance to live your dream, you have to take it.” Entering her 60s, a new dream came to Kotb: Joy 101, which offers an education on wellbeing through its app and events. Kotb continues to be an NBC contributor and host her Making Space podcast.
Since departing "Today," Kotb has embarked on “a brand new life,” she said. The education Kotb received from "Today" and connections she was able to make with fans prepared her for her latest venture. "It kind of is clearer to me now," the Peabody-winning journalist said. “All of that is allowing me to do this, to have this, to bring people here.”
“I got to sit at the feet of all of the greats, all the people who are so full of knowledge and life lessons and just soak it in,” Kotb continued. “It's funny, it's like all the skills you learned about interviewing, and now all of a sudden everything is easy for me here. And it feels natural. It feels like it's supposed to be.”
Kotb recently sat down with “Practical Magic 2” stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman for “Today,” having a laughter-filled conversation that she deemed her “favorite interview ever.”
Looking ahead, Kotb has an interview with retired NFL quarterback Drew Brees – who lead the New Orleans Saints to their sole Super Bowl victory in 2010 – and will join Guthrie for NBC’s coverage of Macy’s 100th Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 26.
“I'm in the mix," Kotb said of her presence at "Today." "So I'm excited about it.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hoda Kotb reveals how Savannah Guthrie is coping as mom Nancy remains missing | Exclusive
