Savannah Guthrie to return to Today show after absence

Today host Savannah Guthrie is returning to the show’s programming, following a leave of absence after her mother’s disappearance, according to Today.

Guthrie said she plans to return on April 6. She made the announcement during an interview with Hoda Kotb that aired Friday.

The step back into her role as host will mark her first in-studio appearance on Today since Jan. 30, just two days before her mother went missing.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing on Feb. 1. Authorities believe she was kidnapped or taken against her will at her home. Surveillance videos show a masked man outside her Tucson, Arizona, home on the night she went missing.

A member of the Pima County sheriffs office remains outside of Nancy Guthrie's home, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
A member of the Pima County sheriff’s office remains outside of Nancy Guthrie’s home, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 in Tucson, Arizona. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Neighbors walk by a growing memorial for Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of
Neighbors walk by a growing memorial for Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, outside her home in Tucson, Arizona, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca)

The Today host said her return is bittersweet.

During the interview, she said, “I’m not going to be the same. But maybe it’s like that old poem: ‘more beautiful in the broken places.’”

She acknowledged that her return also means coming back to all the people who have prayed for and loved her. She said she missed the place that feels like a home to her.

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE GIVES FIRST INTERVIEW SINCE MOTHER’S DISAPPEARANCE: ‘I WAKE UP EVERY NIGHT’

“I want to smile. And when I do, it will be real,” Guthrie said. “I will have joy. And my joy will be my protest. My joy will be my answer. And being there is joyful. And when it’s not, I’ll say so. And I have been so grateful to have this family. I consider this my family, my greater family.”

The Guthrie family is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery.

Co-anchors Savannah Guthrie, left, and Hoda Kotb pose on
Co-anchors Savannah Guthrie, left, and Hoda Kotb pose on the Today show set at NBC Studios on June 27, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
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