Hoda Kotb Missing From ‘Today’ Show Due to Family Health Matter

TODAY star Hoda Kotb has been missing from the show due to a “family health matter,” co-host Craig Melvin revealed Wednesday on the NBC morning show amid fans’ concern about her whereabouts. Kotb, who made her last live appearance on the show on Feb. 17, has been absent without explanation, leading fans to question if something was wrong, leading to Melvin’s explanation on Wednesday’s show.

“We know a lot of you have been wondering how [Kotb] is doing,” Melvin said. “We can tell you that Hoda is OK. She has got a family health matter that she has been dealing with, so we look forward to seeing Hoda and Savannah back here at the desk very, very soon.” Melvin’s health update also came after Kotb’s co-host, Savannah Guthrie, left the show Tuesday due to a positive COVID test. Guthrie remained at home for Wednesday’s show, with Melvin wishing her a “speedy recovery” in the meantime.

Kotb has not addressed her absence publicly during her time away from the show but has posted a series of hopeful messages to her Instagram. On Feb. 22, she posted a quote reading, “One day you will see just how brave you have been,” while the next day she wrote in a caption to another illustration, “Here’s to blue skies xo.”

As for Guthrie, the anchor did not appear on TODAY after unexpectedly stepping away just minutes after the first hour of Tuesday’s broadcast began. TODAY‘s usual 3rd Hour host, Sheinelle Jones, revealed on the show at the time that Guthrie had stepped away from the desk after beginning to feel ill and subsequently receiving a positive COVID test. “By the way, it has been an interesting morning for us. As we said, Savannah left early, she wasn’t feeling great, so she took a COVID test. It came back positive,” Jones explained. “So, as soon as we found out, she rushed home to rest up. So Savannah, we love you, wishing you a speedy recovery.” Guthrie has not offered a subsequent health update on her Instagram account during her time away from the show.