Savannah Guthrie filled in for Sheinelle Jones during the fourth hour of “Today” and became emotional as she explained to Jenna Bush Hager what it was like to go back to work while her mother, Nancy, was missing.
“I can’t look at you every day without crying,” Guthrie said. “You’re my best friend and I know it’s really hard to come back. I’ve been trying hard to keep it that way, and I promise I will.”
“When we meet in the morning, I know that no matter what’s going on, you’re watching me. Sometimes I feel like I want to get the job done, I feel like I have to get it together, and it gets too much. But I’m glad to be back and it’s like two hours of the day I’m thinking about it. It’s not like I’m not thinking about it, because I’m thinking about it. But it’s about doing something. Being with everyone brings me a lot of joy. It’s not easy.”
Guthrie added that although Nancy is always on his mind, returning to work has provided “a little respite.” She said the Today team was like a “family” and that she “wouldn’t have even tried to go back” if she had gotten another job.
“I was like, ‘What else am I supposed to do?'” she said. “And my mom would say the same thing, ‘Just keep going, just keep going.’ And it’s hard to forget reality when you’re with your best friend.”
Guthrie went on to explain that she is still working through her grief and taking each day “one step at a time.”
“That’s always with me,” Guthrie said. “I cry every morning on my way to work, and I cry every morning on my way home. I’m grateful to have good friends and to be in such a beautiful, fun, supportive place. Like so many people there, I get to have all of this together.”
