The anchor cried during a conversation with Jenna Bush Hager on “Today,” admitting “it’s really hard” to work while her mom is still missing.

Savannah Guthrie tears up discussing return to work amid mom Nancy’s disappearance: ‘I’ve been trying so hard to hold it together’

The anchor cried during a conversation with Jenna Bush Hager on "Today," admitting "it's really hard" to work while her mom is still missing.

By Leigh Blickley

June 8, 2026 12:21 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Savannah Guthrie on 'Today'. Credit:

- Savannah Guthrie cried while discussing her return to *Today* on *Jenna & Sheinelle*.

- The newscaster said "it's really hard" working amid her mom Nancy Guthrie's disappearance.

- Savannah filled in for Sheinelle Jones for the first time since her mom's case during the fourth hour of *Today* with Jenna Bush Hager.

Savannah Guthrie got emotional while filling in for Sheinelle Jones during the fourth hour of the *Today* show for the first time since the disappearance of her mother Nancy Guthrie.

Savannah joined *Jenna & Sheinelle* host Jenna Bush Hager on the show Monday and began crying as Bush Hager commended her for coming back to work in April and "leading the ship" amid the continued search for her missing 84-year-old mom.

"Well, I mean, first of all, I can't really even look at you every day without crying," Guthrie, 54, told her "best friend" Bush Hager while holding back tears. "You know, it's really hard to come back, and I've been trying so hard to hold it together, and I promise I will. The show, and this hour especially, is about joy. But having you and all my, I mean, everyone —the people behind the scenes, people in my ear, the producers, our castmates. When I see you in the morning, I know that you see me, no matter what is going on. Sometimes that's almost too much because I feel like to do the job, I gotta keep it together, pull it together, you know?"

Jenna Bush Hager and Savannah Guthrie on 'Today'.

Guthrie went on to say that although she's "happy to be back," she's still constantly thinking about her mom, who disappeared from her home in Catalina Foothills, a suburb of Tucson, Arizz, on Feb. 1 and has yet to be found.

Of work, Guthrie said, "It's something to do, and it brings me a lot of joy to be with everybody." But, she added, "No, it's not easy."

"It's a little respite, and you are my family," she said of hosting *Today*. "I don't think if I had any other kind of job I would have even tried to come back, but I just felt like, 'Well, what else should I do?' And my mom would have said the same, like, 'Honey, you know, just keep going, just keep going.' And so I am."

The newscaster said that the hardest part of returning to work is being with people who truly know her and can sense how she's feeling. She admitted that she was fearful to fill in for Jones because it's hard not to "be real" with Bush Hager, since they are so close.

"I was a little afraid, in a way, to do this show with you," Guthrie said. "You've asked me before, which you are so sweet, you know, 'Come on, you want to fill in?' And I'm like, 'Oh, I don't know if I'm ready.' Because I couldn't look at you in this kind of setting where we just talk about life and not tell the truth about my life. And so, I think, maybe people wonder, like, 'Whoa, what's going on? How is she able to do that job? Is she not thinking about it? Did she forget?' No, never. Never."

Savannah Guthrie and Nancy Guthrie .

Savannah Guthrie/Instagram

Bush Hager reassured her and viewers that no one on the set of *Today* has forgotten about what is happening in the Guthrie family's personal life, before Guthrie mentioned they still need "everybody's prayers."

"We wish someone would call and say what they know," she added.

Bush Hager said their shared faith has pushed them through tough moments, and that Guthrie's strength is "a marvel."

Sheriff in Nancy Guthrie case says DNA testing has 'prolonged' investigation

Savannah Guthrie posts emotional message as search for mom Nancy continues

Guthrie explained, "There's a famous scripture about, 'You'll soar on wings like eagles,' but there's a part of it which says, 'You'll walk and not grow faint,' and this sermon that I read talked about that, and how there's a time in life when just walking and not growing faint is about as good as it can get. And that's what I feel like I'm doing. I'm trying to walk and not grow faint, and it's a gift from God that I'm able to do so. But it's always, always with me, you know?"

Guthrie concluded by revealing she cries every morning on her way to work, and every morning on her way home, but that she's grateful to be able to work at "such a beautiful and joyous and supportive place."

"Like so many people out there, you can hold all of these things together," she said. "I try to tell my kids that too, you know, 'We can hold our sadness and we can hold our joy, and just, if you don't believe it, just watch me. I'm going to show you.' So, thank you for having me. I didn't really mean to overtake the chat."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

The ladies then loosened the mood and began discussing pop culture topics, like Pink's Tony Awards opening number and Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's reported wedding plans at Madison Square Garden.

You know what? I want to talk about all that dumb stuff, too," Guthrie said. "Let's do it!"

*The Pima County Sheriff's Department and the FBI urge those with information about Nancy Guthrie's disappearance to contact them at 1-800-CALL-FBI.*

- Celebrities & Creators

- Celebrity Friends and Family

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Celebrity”