Jenna Bush Hager Tears Up on Air over Savannah Guthrie’s Emotional Return to “Today” Show Set: ‘We’ve All Been Waiting for Her’

Rachel McRadyThu, March 5, 2026 at 5:22 PM UTC

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Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones on 'Today with Jenna & Sheinelle' on Thursday, March 5.Credit: NBC -

Savannah Guthrie visited the Today show set to thank colleagues amid the ongoing search for her mother, Nancy Guthrie

Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones shared emotional reflections on Guthrie’s strength and faith during this difficult time

Guthrie’s family is offering a $1 million reward for any information leading to the recovery of Nancy or an arrest in her abduction

It was an emotional day in Studio 1A on Thursday, March 5.

More than a month since the search for Savannah Guthrie’s missing 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, commenced, the 54-year-old co-anchor returned to the Today show to spend time with her colleagues.

Directly after the visit, a visibly emotional Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones went live on air for the fourth hour show, Today with Jenna & Sheinelle.

“Let’s just get right into it, full disclosure, we’ve had a powerful morning this morning,” Jones shared with viewers.

“Savannah has come back to her home here at 30 Rock in Studio 1A,” Bush Hager said, getting audibly choked up. “We got to see her this morning and in her perfect way, she talked to all of us, hugged every single person in this room, the crew.”

In a statement previously obtained by PEOPLE, a spokesperson for the NBC morning show shared that Savannah “stopped by the studio this morning to be with and thank her TODAY colleagues.”

Jenna Bush Hager discusses Savannah Guthrie's visit to the 'Today' show set on March 5.Credit: NBC

Addressing her future plans for the show, the statement added, "While she plans to return to the show on air, she remains focused right now supporting her family and working to help bring Nancy home."

Bush Hager confirmed this statement while on Jenna & Sheinelle, sharing, “She said that she has the intention to return to the show even though it feels like the hardest thing to do. It’s also her home and where she feels so loved. And she is beyond loved here. So we’re happy she’s home. I don’t know when she’s actually returning to the show. But she was here and that felt so good to get to hug her.”

Noting that the exchange happened right before they went on air, Jones, who has been public about her grief journey in the wake of the death of her husband Uche Ojeh, shared why seeing Savannah made her feel hopeful.

“It’s interesting because I think I handle moments like this differently now,” Jones said, referencing Ojeh’s May 2025 death. “Because I am in some ways — I’m not smiling, but I feel proud of Savannah and I’m rooting for Savannah, and I know the strength it would take to even just come in here and to be amongst all of us. And so I see it as we’re in this storm and we’re not out of the storm but there’s a light somewhere even in the midst of the storm. And I think her coming here and just being able to be with us and for us to be able to hug her, I think it’s a step, right? I don’t know what’s ahead of us. All I know is, it’s a step.”

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The mother of three shared that she told Savannah as much when they embraced.

Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones discuss Savannah Guthrie's return to the 'Today' show set on March 5.Credit: NBC

“For me anytime you can take a step, I celebrate that,” she explained. “So I looked at her and I hugged her and I’m like, ‘You know what, you are here. And we love you, everyone loves you, and whenever you’re ready, we’re here.’ And so for me I feel encouraged this morning that we are one step closer just to getting a step to whatever it’s going to be.”

Bush Hager, who named Savannah as the godmother to her 7-year-old son, Hal Hager, shared a message from Savannah about her faith.

“She said the yellow flowers and the pins, all of your prayers, she feels them, she depends on them,” Bush Hager noted. “She said — and she’s said this to me before during all of this — but her pastor said — and I think she wouldn’t mind me sharing this — she said, ‘You know, God is our last resort,’ and she said, ‘No, God has always been my first resort.’ ”

Nancy Guthrie, Savannah Guthrie and Jenna Bush Hager on 'Today' in 2019.Credit: Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

The emotional Bush Hager called Savannah “one of the most precious things in our lives,” and Jones added, “I think we just keep it going. We keep loving her, keep our arms around her. And we’re gonna get her back here.”

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Savannah’s mother, Nancy, was abducted from her Tucson, Ariz., home on Feb. 1. Police uncovered surveillance footage that showed a masked, armed intruder attempting to enter Nancy’s home.

After more than a month of searching and public pleas, police have yet to name a suspect in the case. The Guthrie family offered a reward of $1 million for any information leading to the recovery of Nancy or an arrest in her abduction.

Savannah also shared that the family donated $500,000 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Anyone with information about Nancy's disappearance is asked to please contact 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department 520-351-4900.

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