Hoda Kotb skipped out on Tuesday’s edition of Today – and for a very good reason. It was a big day for the host’s two girls, Haley and Hope, as they started school after the summer break. 

At the beginning of Tuesday’s show, Savannah Guthrie, who was joined by Craig Melvin, explained that Hoda was supporting her daughters as they started the new school year.

Hoda Kotb was absent from Tuesday’s edition of Today

“Hi everybody, good morning. Welcome to Today,” began Savannah, before addressing Hoda’s absence from the show: “So nice to have you with us on a Tuesday morning, Hoda is off. This is the first day of school for her girls, so she’s holding it down with them.

“Happy Labor Day, summer is over. Don’t you just love a new school year?” she asked Craig.

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Craig Melvin stepped in for Hoda

Both Savannah and Hoda have spent some time away from the Today desk recently, making the most of the summer holidays with their young children.

Hoda shares her two daughters with her ex-fiancé, Joel Schiffman, while Savannah is a mom to her daughter Vale, ten, and son Charles, seven.

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Hoda’s daughters Hope and Haley started school on Tuesday

Although Hoda has kept a relatively low profile on social media during her time off, Savannah shared a glimpse of her vacation in August. Alongside a video of her two children sitting on a bench, the journalist penned: “Holding on to the last of summer.”

Both Hoda and Savannah have previously spoken about balancing their home life and careers.

In a joint interview with Good Housekeeping magazine in 2022, the pair shared how they rely on each other as working moms.

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Savannah is a doting mom to children Vale and Charles

Hoda said: “I have some nights where I really messed up and I know I did. And I come in the next morning [thinking], I feel terrible for what I did. What was I thinking? Why did I think that was going to work? They went to bed crying. Like, I don’t want that to be me.

“But then I talk to Savannah. She’ll say, ‘That was my Wednesday,’ it makes you feel less alone,” she added.

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Meanwhile, Savannah said: “Sometimes it’s enjoyable to just vent to each other. We trade parenting tips or ideas, or sometimes I listen to Hoda FaceTime with her kids. It’s amazing to be in a very high-pressure job but also have someone who understands the other high-pressure job you have and can carry it with you. They’re not going to judge if you are bringing some of that to work.”