Savannah Guthrie revealed she will be returning to the “Today” show on April 6 — but she acknowledged it won’t be easy.
During the second part of her interview, which aired Friday, she set the record straight about her future on the “Today” show.
Admitting that she doesn’t know “how to come back” and also “how not to come back,” she explained to Hoda Kotb, “The ‘Today’ show is the answer to all of my dreams — better than my dreams.
“It’s hard to imagine [coming back] because it’s such a place of joy and lightness. I can’t come back and try to be something I’m not, but I can’t not come back because it’s my family. I think part of my purpose now.
“I want to smile and when I do, it will be real. 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.”
She went on to express her gratitude for her “greater family,” adding, “I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t know if I’ll belong anymore, but I would like to try. And I’m not going to be the same. But maybe it’s like that old poem: ‘More beautiful in the broken places.”
Savannah also talked about what it was like to return to the “Today” show studio in New York City earlier this month, explaining, “I really wanted to come see everybody. I just love this beautiful place that we call home and we get to come and be every day and I know how much people have prayed for me and loved me — all the people that you see on TV, you know, and all the people that you don’t.”
She expressed how beautiful it was for her to receive notes and messages of support from her NBC family, noting, “They’re my family too.”
This is Savannah’s first sitdown since her mom, Nancy Guthrie, was reported missing from her Tucson, Ariz., home on Feb. 1.
During the first part of her interview, which aired Thursday, she talked about her guilt that she was possibly responsible for her mom’s disappearance and slammed the theories that her own family was to blame for the horrific crime. She also revealed new details in her mom’s case, as well as her children’s reactions.
The journalist, who joined the “Today” show in 2011, has been off air since the 84-year-old’s abduction.
Two weeks into the investigation for Nancy, we heard Savannah was stepping back from her NBC role “for the foreseeable future.”
An insider told Page Six, “Everyone at ‘Today’ is taking this day by day, and of course giving Savannah the grace, time and support she needs.”
While the former attorney’s contract was coming up for renewal, the source said any discussions about the co-anchor’s future would be “hurtful.”
Savannah made headlines earlier this month for returning to Studio 1A — not to address viewers but to reunite with her colleagues.
The 54-year-old, notably, had been in Arizona for weeks with her family members navigating the crisis, with Kotb, 61, filling in.
During her March 5 Manhattan visit, a spokesperson for the network told us, “While she plans to return to the show on air, she remains focused right now supporting her family and working to help bring Nancy home.”
Jenna Bush Hager confirmed as much on air that day, revealing Savannah “said that she has the intention to return.”
Hager, 44, explained, “Even though it feels like the hardest thing to do, it’s also her home and where she feels so loved.”
Sheinelle Jones agreed, adding, “Whenever [she is] ready, we are here.”
Although Savannah’s plans may change amid her mother’s case, Page Six reported last week that she hopes to come back after her and husband Michael Feldman’s two kids’ spring break.
Most Manhattan schools are back in session on April 10.
Carson Daly noted when Thursday’s portion of Savannah’s Kotb interview aired that he and his co-hosts have not had “much correspondence” with her.
“As we’re watching this with the world, we’re learning and unpacking so much about our dear friend,” he explained to viewers.
Daly, 52, and his fellow NBC personalities have expressed feeling “shaken” over the tragedy, which resulted in an increase in security presence on set.
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