Savannah Guthrie’s colleagues have spent months standing beside her as she endures one of the most painful chapters of her life.
Since the disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, on February 1, the “Today” co-anchor has leaned on the support of her television family.
Now, fellow hosts Sheinelle Jones and Jenna Bush Hager are opening up about the emotional toll the ordeal has taken on everyone behind the scenes, revealing how the crisis has strengthened their bonds both on and off camera.
For Jones, rallying around Savannah Guthrie felt natural because she had already experienced that same support firsthand.
Jones endured a devastating period after her husband, Uche Ojeh, was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2023. He later died in May 2025, leaving Jones to navigate immense grief while raising their three children.
When reflecting on Savannah’s ongoing ordeal, Jones explained why helping her friend was never a question. “We’re going to rally around our sister,” Jones told Page Six. “She rallied around me. We know how to do that here.”
She recalled one particularly meaningful moment during her husband’s illness when Savannah stepped in to help. “There was one day Savannah came up to the hospital and she said, ‘You need to get out of here …,’” the host recounted.
The two left the hospital briefly and spent time together at a nearby restaurant.
“We went to this little restaurant around the corner from the hospital and had margaritas, and I said, ‘You were my oxygen for the day, and sometimes I never know where my oxygen’s going to come from,’” Jones explained.
Savannah Absence Changed The Dynamic For Bush Hager And Jones
Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance occurred just weeks after Jones and Jenna Bush Hager launched “Jenna & Sheinelle,” the fourth hour of “Today.”
Under normal circumstances, the hosts might have spent more time focusing on the show’s debut. Instead, personal struggles took center stage.
“I didn’t have time to worry about my hair or whether I was being funny. Real life was happening,” Jones explained.
Despite the difficult circumstances, the journalist believes the experience deepened her partnership with Bush Hager. “It continues to bond us in ways we can’t even describe or make sense of,” she added.
The emotional honesty resonated with viewers. The program’s ratings have climbed significantly, rising 30 percent over the past year and producing its strongest May audience share in four years.
For Jones and Bush Hager, however, the focus remained on supporting Savannah Guthrie rather than celebrating ratings success.
Savannah Guthrie Remained At The Center Of Daily Conversations
Jenna Bush Hager admitted that it would have been impossible to ignore what Savannah was experiencing. “[Savannah’s] heart is broken and we love her,” she said.
Unlike traditional news programming, the hosts said their show depends heavily on personal connection and authenticity.
“What’s beautiful about our hour is that you can’t fake it. We don’t have the news to fall back on. Our conversations have to be emotional and connected to what we’re actually going through,” Bush Hager explained.
That meant discussing Savannah’s absence openly.
“Every day we were thinking about her,” the 44-year-old noted, adding, “How could we not talk about it? It was what was happening off camera.”
The hosts deliberately avoided pretending everything was fine. Bush Hager said, ““We’re not going to act like things are OK if they’re not. It was a really hard time because we adore her so much, and it still is.”
Savannah’s Struggles Never Made Her Co-Stars Think About Themselves
While some might wonder whether Nancy’s disappearance caused concern about their own families, Bush Hager quickly dismissed the idea.
“No, because we’re worried about one person only,” she said. The same mindset guided the team during Jones’ family tragedy. “When Sheinelle was going through what she was going through, we weren’t thinking, ‘What if this happened to us?’” the journalist explained.
Instead, the focus remained on helping however possible. That spirit has also shaped the growing friendship between Sheinelle Jones and Jenna Bush Hager.
Before Jones officially accepted the co-hosting role, Bush Hager already knew she wanted her for the position.
“I always wanted Sheinelle,” she said, further explaining, “But I was waiting because she was going through something very personal.”
The partnership has since evolved into what Jones jokingly described as “dating live on air,” while Bush Hager compared the experience to learning to fly a plane while flying it.
Savannah Guthrie’s Faith Continues To Inspire Those Around Her
Faith has played a major role in helping both women navigate difficult seasons, and Sheinelle Jones said Savannah Guthrie’s outlook has left a lasting impact on her.
While Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance remains unsolved and a $1 million reward is now being offered for information, Jones continues to draw strength from a conversation she had with Savannah.
“We are both pretty spiritual,” she said. She recalled Savannah sharing a lesson from scripture about finding strength one day at a time. According to Jones, those words proved true throughout her own struggles.
“And you wake up in the morning, and you’re going to feel like you can’t get out of bed, but just know somehow you’re going to get a little manna every day,” she shared.
Jones also credited former “Today” co-anchor Hoda Kotb for encouraging her to take on the show’s fourth-hour role. Months later, Jones believes Kotb was right.
In her words, “I love being able to sit down, not know exactly where we’re going to go, and have the freedom to figure it out together.”
