Jenna Bush Hager became emotional on Wednesday as she recalled feeling like she didn’t do enough for her friend and Today co-host Hoda Kotb during Hoda’s recent time of need. On the latest episode of Today, Jenna began to cry when she explained how she “wasn’t there” for Hoda when Hoda stepped away from the show in February to tend to her daughter who was hospitalized at the time. “When Hoda’s daughter wasn’t feeling well I just wasn’t there for her the way I wanted to be,” Jenna explained. “I didn’t know how to be and I felt terrible about it.”
Hoda and Jenna talk about ‘brutal honesty’ and Jenna opens up about feeling guilty for not being there for Hoda how she wanted during Hope’s health struggles. pic.twitter.com/h2RRyMOqKa
— TODAY with Hoda & Jenna (@HodaAndJenna) May 10, 2023
“But I didn’t know what to do so I just said it. I said, ‘I feel like I haven’t been there for you,'” she added, as Hoda took a deep breath and gushed over Jenna’s honesty. “It was, first of all, one of the most beautiful statements. You’ve had so many beautiful statements, and it touched me deeply, and it meant everything to me that you said that,” Hoda said, as she held back tears as well.
When Hoda returned to the show after missing two weeks for her daughter, who ended up returning home in good health, Jenna was the first to open up about how much she missed her co-host. And again, the water works were cued! “Hoda makes my life full, and it’s so interesting, but you don’t know until somebody’s gone unexpectedly how much you depend on them,” Jenna said tearfully.
“I knew I adored her, but I wrote her when she came back, and I said, ‘I don’t even know if you know how much you impact my life,’” she added. “I just am so grateful that I have a partner in television that appreciates every single moment and encourages me to do the same.
On the same show, Hoda gushed how happy she was now that her baby girl was safe and sound. “I have a family who loves me. I have a little girl who’s home. I have a wonderful support system,” she said. “I feel blessed and grateful. Really, really, really grateful.”
In February 2017, at the age of 52, Hoda told her Today family that she welcomed her first child, Hayley Joy Kotb. Hoda, who was previously married to Burzis Kanga from 2005 to 2007, also celebrated the news on her Instagram. “And then my soul saw you and it kind of went, ‘Oh there you are. I’ve been looking for you,’” read the inspirational message. Two years later, she revealed that she adopted a baby again, another little girl named Hope Catherine Kotb.