Hoda Kotb Is Set To Take Another Break From Her Suburban Life To Return to ‘Today’ Show—After Filling In for Savannah Guthrie

Hoda Kotb is once again leaving behind her suburban lifestyle and heading back to the NBC studios for another run on the "Today" show, days after she ended a lengthy stint filling in for her former co-host Savannah Guthrie.

The NBC alum, 61, announced in September 2024 that she would be stepping down from the hit morning show to spend more time with her kids. She officially left her role as a "Today" show co-host on Jan. 10, 2025, soon after she moved her daughters Hayley, 8, and Hope, 6, into a $2.9 million Bronxville home, which she purchased in April 2024.

However, Kotb is now due to step back in front of the cameras, joining her former colleagues for a week, when she will fill in for Craig Melvin, beginning on April 13.

It has been less than two weeks since Kotb last appeared on the "Today" show; on Feb. 2, she rejoined the daily lineup to fill in for Guthrie, who spent two months in Arizona assisting with the investigation into her mother Nancy's disappearance.

While that investigation is ongoing, Guthrie returned to the morning show on April 6, prompting Kotb to step down.

It was Guthrie who had the honor of revealing the news about Kotb's latest return, telling viewers during the April 9 broadcast of the show that she would be filling in for Melvin, who is taking a "well deserved vacation" for a week.

"Craig, you are heading off on a very well-deserved vacation," Guthrie said during the broadcast. "You’ve been holding it down here for a long time. So, you’re gonna have a spring break."

She added, "And Monday, we’re gonna try a new host here. Her name is Hoda [Kotb], and she’s gonna fill in for you next week. So, that will be fun.”

Melvin teased, “Oh, I’ve heard of her! That will be fun. I won’t see you. I won’t turn on the TV, but it’ll be fun.”

Guthrie responded, “Yeah, don’t. You’re not supposed to watch on your vacation.”

Guthrie returned to the "Today" show on April 6, two months after her 84-year-old mom was abducted from her Arizona home.

The 54-year-old broadcaster had been been absent from the morning show since her mom was taken from her Tucson, AZ, home on Feb. 1.

"It is good to be home. Here we go, ready or not—let’s do the news," Savannah said at the beginning of her first show back.

Prior to her official "Today" return, Guthrie sat down with Kotb for her first on-camera interview since her mother's disappearance, admitting during the tearful chat that she was wracked with guilt over the 84-year-old's abduction—fearing that Nancy was taken because of her own TV fame.

Guthrie added that it was her brother, Cameron, who has a military background, who was the first to suggest to her that their mother might have been kidnapped in a ransom attempt.

"Even on the phone when I called him, he knew," she said. "He said, ‘I think she’s been kidnapped for ransom.’ And I said, ‘What? Well, why? What?’

"It sounds so, like, how dumb could I be? But I just—I didn’t wanna believe. I just said, ‘Do you think because of me?’ And he said, ‘I’m sorry, sweetie, but yeah, maybe.’ But I knew that."

Breaking down in tears, Savannah issued a heartbreaking apology to her mother for any part her career may have played in her abduction, saying: "I’d just say, ‘I’m so sorry, Mommy. I’m so sorry.’ I’m sorry to my sister and my brother and my kids and my nephew and Tommy, my brother-in-law.

"If it is me, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry."

On the day of Guthrie's return to the "Today" show, entertainment outlet TMZ revealed that it had received two new messages from an unknown sender who claimed to have significant information regarding the whereabouts of the missing 84-year-old's body, as well as details about those responsible for her capture.

Nancy has been missing for more than two months, having last been seen outside her Arizona home on Jan. 31—several hours before investigators believe she was forcibly removed from her property in the early hours of Feb. 1.

Since her disappearance was made public, multiple ransom notes have been sent to different news outlets, including the two latest messages, which TMZ founder Harvey Levin revealed were received on April 6, the same day that Savannah, 54, returned to the "Today" show for the first time since her mother went missing.

Discussing the notes in a live broadcast that same day, Levin shared some details about the information included in the notes—which have not yet been verified by the authorities—revealing that the sender had not only alleged that Nancy is dead, but also claimed to know where her body is.

The person responsible for the notes offered to share that information in return for payment in Bitcoin, but they are not thought to have shared any evidence that verifies their claims.

"We got another letter today from this person, an email saying, ‘I know where her body is, and who the kidnapper is, give me half a Bitcoin and I’ll tell you,'" Levin said.

A second note was then sent to the outlet by the same person, who then alleged that they had seen Nancy in Mexico, near the Arizona border.

"I saw her alive with them in the state of Sonora Mexico," the note read.

According to former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer, the messages were likely intended to "torture" Nancy's family, with the expert telling Newsweek: "They sent these right when Savannah Guthrie went back to work. That was by no mistake, that was absolutely meant to further torment her and her family.

"I think it speaks to the fact that there is at least someone out there that is still willing to torture this family by sending these continued communications with no proof of life."

She added that she does not believe the person sending the messages actually has legitimate information—noting that they are only asking for half a Bitcoin, which would currently be worth around $35,000, despite Nancy's family offering a $1 million reward to anyone who provides details that help them to find the 84-year-old or identify her captors.

"The reason this makes sense to me, that they don’t have that knowledge, is because they’re not seeking the $1 million. Instead, they’re trying to subvert it with this … quickly paid, no hoops to jump through, just get the money. But I think that these people are scammers," she noted.

While Levin said that his outlet has reported the notes to the FBI, the authorities have yet to issue a comment on the latest messages, which come more than two months after Nancy disappeared.