Savannah Guthrie shared what her life has been like since she returned to TODAY after her mother's kidnapping earlier this year.
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The emotional moment happened today, June 8, while the journalist was the guest co-host on TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle. She opened her heart to her longtime friend and peer, Jenna Bush Hager, about life since returning to the show.
Savannah Guthrie Said, "It's Not Easy" Being Back
Savannah returned to TODAY on April 6. She stepped away after her mother, Nancy, was kidnapped in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 1. As of June 8, Nancy has not been found.
"You guys have been so beautiful," she shared with fans outside at the time. "I've received so many letters, so much kindness to me and my whole family. We feel it. We feel your prayers."
Now, two months after returning to the anchor desk, the 54-year-old Savannah shared with Bush Hager her struggle to keep it together.
"When I see you in the morning, I know you see me, no matter what is going on," Savannah explained. "And sometimes that's almost too much because I feel like to do the job I gotta keep it together, pull it together. But I'm happy to be back. It's like the two hours of my day — it's not that I'm not thinking about it, because I am, but it's something to do, and it brings me a lot of joy to be with everybody. But, no, it's not easy."
Savannah Said Her Family Still Needs Prayers
Savannah added that work gives her a brief break from the pain of her mother's absence.
"It's always with me," she said. "I cry every morning on the way to work, and I cry every morning on the way home. And I'm grateful to have good friends and to be able to come to such a beautiful, joyous and supportive place. Like so many people out there, you can hold all of these things together. I try to tell my kids that too. We can hold our sadness, and we can hold our joy. And if you don't believe it, just watch me."
And although she appears professional on camera, Savannah hasn't forgotten her family's struggles outside the studio.
"I know maybe people wonder, 'Whoa, what's going on? How's she able to do that job? Is she not thinking about it? Did she forget?' No, never. Never," she said.
Savannah added that she still needs "everybody's prayers" as the search for her mother continues.
She pleaded, "I wish someone would call and say what they know and tell the truth."
