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Hoda Kotb returned to the Today show on Friday, March 3, but only for a brief moment! The famous broadcaster, 58, was featured in a pre-recorded interview with Chloe Lattanzi, the daughter of the late Olivia Newton-John. The segment came amid Hoda’s continued absence from the morning show due to “a family health matter.” Her co-anchors had shared earlier in the week that she is “ok” and will be back to hosting the show soon.
During Friday’s episode, Sheinelle Jones introduced Hoda’s interview with Chloe, saying Hoda “recently” spoke to the late Grease actress’ family. The discussion included Olivia’s “beautiful legacy” that she left following death her in August 2002 from a battle with breast cancer.
Even before the episode got into full gear, Sheinelle and her and co-anchor Craig Melvin told viewers that Hoda and Savannah Guthrie were both “out” for the day. The day before, the anchors finally revealed the reasons for Savannah and Koda’s coinciding absences.
“We mentioned that Savannah and Hoda are both off. Savannah, she’s home after a positive COVID test yesterday. We are wishing our friend a speedy recovery,” Craig explained on Wednesday, March 1. “And as for Hoda, we know a lot of you have been wondering how she’s doing. We can tell you that Hoda’s OK. She’s got a family health matter that she’s been dealing with, so we look forward to seeing Hoda and Savannah back at the desk real, real soon.”
On the same day, Hoda was spotted out in New York with one of her two adopted daughters and fans collectively breathed a sigh of relief. While the details of the health issue have not been revealed, the mother/daughter outing certainly showed how the famous TV journalist circles her wagons and thrives with parenting, which came later in life for her.
In February 2017, at the age of 52, Hoda told her Today family that she welcomed her first child, Hayley Joy Kotb. Hoda, who was previously married to Burzis Kanga from 2005 to 2007, also celebrated the news on her Instagram. “And then my soul saw you and it kind of went, ‘Oh there you are. I’ve been looking for you,’” read the inspirational message. Two years later, she revealed that she adopted a baby again, another little girl named Hope Catherine Kotb.
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