Jenna Bush Hager was moved to tears as she spoke about Savannah Guthrie’s emotional return on the Today show set for Thursday as the search for her missing mother Nancy Guthrie continues.
“Savannah is back at home here on 30 Rock,” Hager told co-host Shainelle Jones on Thursday’s episode of “Today with Jenna & Shainelle.”
“We had the pleasure of meeting her this morning, and she spoke to all of us in the perfect way and hugged everyone in this room,” Hager continued, her voice thick with emotion.
Hager also said that Savannah, 54, is “going to return to the show even if it feels like the hardest thing to do” and that “Today” has become “her home and a place where she feels so loved.”
“We’re glad she’s coming home because she’s so loved here,” Hager said.
Hager, 44, said he doesn’t know when Savannah will return to Today, but he was “very happy to hug her.”
Jones, who lost her husband Uche Ojie to cancer last year, agreed. “I’m not laughing, but I’m proud of Savannah and I’m rooting for Savannah. And I know how much strength it takes just to come here and be among all of us,” she said, calling Savannah’s short-lived return a “step” forward.
“I don’t know what’s ahead of us. I don’t know what’s ahead of us, but all I know is that it’s a step. And for me, any time you can take a step, I celebrate it.”
Hager thanked fans for their support of Savannah, saying she “feels” and “counts on” their prayers.
He also recalled that Savannah said her pastor told her, “God knows, God is our last resort,” to which Savannah replied, “No, God was always my first resort.”
“So thank you for your continued support and love for all of us, but especially Savannah, Annie, Cam (Savannah’s brother) and their family, because, as you know, she is one of the most precious things in our lives.”
Sources told Page Six on Thursday that during the emotional visit, Savannah thanked the show’s staff and cast for “caring about my mother as much as I do” and for their “love, prayers and support” during Nancy’s disappearance last month.
“I’m still me,” Savannah told staff, a source said. “And I don’t know what version of me that will be, but it will be.”
Nancy, 84, was reported missing from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on February 1st after failing to attend church services.
Savannah and her siblings, Annie and Camron, have since posted multiple videos on social media pleading for their mother’s return.
Savannah had not returned to Today since her mother disappeared, which authorities believe was a kidnapping.
The kidnapping investigation is ongoing, and the Guthrie family is offering an increased reward of up to $1 million for “any information leading to the return of Nancy Guthrie.”
“Please continue to pray constantly. We still believe. We believe in miracles,” Savannah said in a social media video on February 24.
“We still believe she will return. … We are breathing into the embers of hope.”
