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Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie hold back tears during emotional moment on Today

The NBC hosts got a little choked up as they were joined by Jenna Bush Hager


Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb on the Today Show© Getty Images
Ahad Sanwari
Ahad Sanwari - New York
Senior WriterNew York
May 10, 2023
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After a morning full of breaking news lines, it was time for an emotional turn on Wednesday's Today Show, especially for anchors Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie.

The two were joined by Jenna Bush Hager for a special segment in honor of Mother's Day coming up this weekend as they paid tribute to their own moms and relived their most special times with them.

VIDEO: Hoda Kotb reveals change to look following daughter Hope's hospital scare

Some of the most emotional recollections came from the hosts' own journeys of motherhood, with Savannah, 51, and Hoda, 58, living through their difficult paths to becoming mothers.

Savannah and husband Michael Feldman are parents to Vale, eight, and Charley, six, while Hoda adopted her two daughters Haley, six, and Hope, three, with her ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman.

MORE: Today's Al Roker inundated with prayers as he reveals outcome of surgery

The former spoke about her mom's strength when she unexpectedly lost her father as a teenager and how she encouraged her to find joy in motherhood.

Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie, and Jenna Bush Hager talk about their moms ahead of Mother's Day© NBC News/TODAY
Hoda, Savannah, and Jenna talked about their moms ahead of Mother's Day

"When I was in my 30s, I really wished to be married and be a mom, and things just did not happen that fast for me," Savannah said, revealing how it was her mother, Nancy Guthrie, who got her through it all. 

"And my mom's confidence that one day I would be a mom even as the years ticked by and ticked by and ticked by meant so much to me," she added, getting choked up.

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"She said, 'Of course you'll be a mom, Savannah. You are going to be a mom and you're going to be a wonderful mom.' For her to have that confidence and faith was so meaningful to me. It got me through really hard times."

Hoda Kotb with her mom Sami Kotb© Getty Images
Hoda with her mom Sami Kotb

Hoda talked about her breast cancer diagnosis and how her mother Sameha "Sami" Kotb reacted to seeing her daughter go into surgery.

"I had been through an illness, and the idea of getting to a point of having my own children was not even imaginable to me," Hoda shared, brimming with emotion. 

MORE: Hoda Kotb reveals heart-stopping ICU moment during her 3-year-old daughter's hospital scare

"I was about to go into surgery for breast cancer. I remember the doctor looked at my mom, who was terrified, and she said, 'Ms. Kotb, I'm going to take care of your little girl and bring her home.'"

She further spoke of how the moment found a full circle happy ending when she brought her first daughter, Haley, home to her mom.

"I remember when I placed Haley in my mom's arms, and I thought to myself, who would have ever thought that could happen? So to think from that moment there in the hospital to this moment watching my mom hold my children, it's like, God is good."

MORE: Today's Savannah Guthrie's multi-million net worth compared to Hoda Kotb, Dylan Dreyer, Al Roker, and more – who's on top?

Jenna, 41, was equally as grateful to her mother, former First Lady Laura Bush, and spoke highly of her role as a grandmother to her three children, Mila, 10, Poppy, seven, and Hal, three.

Jenna Bush Hager with her mom Laura Bush© Getty Images
Jenna with her mom Laura Bush

"It's so fun to watch my mom and dad [George Bush] with my little ones," she gushed. "She sort of just allows all the fun and beauty of being a grandparent, which is that there really aren't that many rules, that the kids can just be themselves."

Check out more photos of the Today Show anchors with their children below:

today hoda kotb daughters fiance joel© Instagram
Hoda Kotb with her daughters and ex-fiancé
Leila Roker, Deborah Roberts, Al Roker and Nicholas Albert Roker attend the 2016 CollegeBound Initiative celebration at Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 26, 2016 in New York City© Getty
Al and Deborah also share son Nick and daughter Leila
Jenna Bush Hagers three kids Mila, Poppy, and Hal© Instagram
Jenna often shares adorable photos of her three kids
Dylan Dreyer and Brian Fichera's three sons© Instagram
Dylan Dreyer is a mom to three sons with husband Brian Fichera
Savannah Guthrie in the Today studio with her children© NBC
Savannah Guthrie is a doting mom to children Vale and Charles

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