Longtime TODAY show host Hoda Kotb, 58, has some concerned fans as she’s now been off the air for nearly one week. Amid her absence on Feb. 27, she took to Instagram to share a message about “hope” and captioned it with two heart emojis. “Choose Hope”, the painting read amid a backdrop of a sunset sky. On Monday, the mom-of-two was temporarily replaced by Sheinelle Jones, 44, alongside Jenna Bush Hager, 41, for Today With Hoda & Jenna.
Following sharing the message with her 2.2 million Instagram followers, many of them flooded the comments section with their concerns. “Today show just isn’t the same without you! I hope you’re ok, but boy if they are letting you go.. people are going to drop like flys watching Today. We Love Hoda!”, one fan wrote, while another added, “Find it difficult to watch with you not being there.” In a separate comment, one admirer wished Hoda and her family nothing but the best. “Hoping all is well with you and your family. Miss seeing you in the morning,” they noted.
The TV personality had a “planned absence” last Monday, for President’s Day, as reported by Decider, however she was also M.I.A. on Feb. 24. On Friday’s episode of TODAY, her co-host Savannah Guthrie, 51, revealed to viewers that, “Hoda’s off today” and later added, “Hoda’s got the morning off.” Despite sharing that the 58-year-old was not at work last week, neither Savannah, Hoda, or the network has explained why. Along with Sheinelle, host Willie Geist, 47, has also been filling in for the brunette beauty amid her brief hiatus.
Despite her absence, Hoda has been active on social media in the last week, with a plethora of cryptic messages. After celebrating her niece, Hannah Kotb‘s 16th birthday on Feb. 18, the I Really Needed This Today author shared a few messages on Instagram about “strong women” and “brave people.” On Feb. 22, her message read, “One day you will see just how brave you have been”, and two days later it read, “Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.” Finally, before her post about “hope”, Hoda shared one that read, “Sometimes miracles are just good people with kind hearts.” At this time, it is unclear when she will return to TODAY.
The Virginia Tech alum joined the hit NBC news program as the co-host with Savannah in 2018. Not only did she begin hosting the first two hours of the show, but she continues to host the fourth hour. “It’s 2018 and we are kicking off the year right because Hoda is officially the co-anchor of Today,” Savannah revealed at the time. “This has to be the most popular decision NBC News have ever made and I’m so thrilled.” Hoda first joined NBC News’ Dateline in 1998 and has since become a household name within the last 25 years.