Kotb is filling in for Craig Melvin, who replaced her following her Jan. 2025 exit
Credit: NBC
NEED TO KNOW
- Hoda Kotb returned to the Today show to co-anchor with Savannah Guthrie for the first time since her Jan. 2025 exit
- Kotb left the show to focus on her daughters and her wellness venture, Joy 101
- Craig Melvin is on spring break with his family, prompting Kotb to fill in for the week
Hoda Kotb returned to the Today show on Monday, April 13, to sit next to Savannah Guthrie at the anchor desk and cover the news for the first time since her Jan. 2025 exit.
With Craig Melvin out to spend spring break with his family, Kotb is filling in for the week.
“So glad to have you here, Hoda,” Guthrie gushed at the top of the NBC morning show.
“I'm so happy sitting next to you in this chair again,” Kotb replied, grinning and reaching over to her friend.
Credit: NBC
“Yeah, it's good, it's like the old times,” Guthrie said, adding, “Craig's on a very well-deserved vacation with his family this week.”
Melvin replaced Kotb as Guthrie's co-anchor in Jan. 2025 after Kotb announced her decision to leave the show in an effort to spend more time with her daughters, Haley, 9, and Hope, 6, and focus on her wellness venture, Joy 101.
Credit: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty
Kotb filled in for Guthrie for multiple weeks in February and March while Guthrie was absent from Today amid the ongoing investigation into her mother, Nancy Guthrie's abduction.
Kotb also conducted Savannah's emotional interview in March, detailing her side of the ordeal and the pain her family continues to endure.
Credit: NBC / TODAY
Savannah returned to the Today show on April 6 after telling Kotb that her joy will be her “protest” to the injustice of her mother's abductor.
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Savannah and Melvin previously shared that Kotb would be filling in for him last week.
"You're heading off on a very well-deserved vacation," Savannah told Melvin. "You've been holding it down here for a long time. So you're gonna have a spring break. And Monday, we're gonna try a new host here. Her name is Hoda and she's gonna fill in for you next week."
After Melvin joked that he's "heard of her," he confirmed he "won't turn on the TV" during his absence. "Yeah, don't," Savannah said. "You're not supposed to watch on your vacation."
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