Hoda Kotb’s co-stars promote her interview with Michelle Obama on the Today show in her absence

Hoda Kotb has shared her latest interview with Michelle Obama while taking another break from work following her youngest daughter’s hospitalization last month. 

The Today star, 58, sat down with Obama, 59, in front of a live audience in Philadelphia last November while the former first lady was promoting her new book, The Light We Carry, on her six-city tour. 

Their conversation was recorded for an episode of Obama’s new podcast, The Light, and a bonus episode of Kotb’s podcast, Making Space, both of which dropped on Tuesday. 

During the candid interview, Obama opened up about the lesson in love that she learned from her husband, former President Barack Obama, early on in their courtship.  

Their conversation was recorded for an episode of Obama’s new podcast, The Light , and a bonus episode of Kotb’s podcast, Making Space

Obama opened up about the lesson in love that she learned from her husband, former President Barack Obama, during the candid interview, saying, ‘He showed up for his people’ 

‘I was looking for romance. I was looking for long walks on the beach. But what Barack was showing me was his steady, his constant. He was showing me that his family mattered,’ she recalled. 

‘Even with a girlfriend in tow, he prioritized being there for his grandparents and for his little sister and his mother. He showed up for his people, and that’s what you want. And that’s what Barack has shown me his entire life, that he shows up for us, for me and our daughters, for his friends, for our families.’ 

Kotb’s co-star Carson Daley promoted the bonus episode of her podcast on Tuesday’s show as she missed her second day of work in a row.

Both she and her co-anchor Savannah Guthrie were absent from Monday’s broadcast, although the latter was said to be on assignment. 

It’s unclear when Kotb will be back on the show, but her latest absence comes just a few weeks after she returned to work following her three-year-old daughter Hope’s hospitalization. 

Kotb’s co-stars promoted her interview with Obama on Tuesday’s show as she missed her second day of work in a row

Both Kotb and her co-anchor Savannah Guthrie were absent from Monday’s broadcast, although the latter was said to be on assignment

The Today co-anchor missed two weeks of the morning show while caring for her youngest child, who spent several days in the intensive care unit battling a health issue. 

Kotb opened up about her daughter’s hospitalization when she returned to work on Monday, March 6. Prior to the episode, she hadn’t been on air since February 17. 

‘My youngest Hope was in the ICU for a few days and then the hospital for a little more than a week,’ she told Guthrie. ‘I’m so grateful she is home, she is back home. I was waiting for that day to come. And we are watching her closely. I’m just so happy.

‘And you know what I realized too, Savannah? When your child is ill, the amount of gratitude you can have for people who have helped you out,’ she continued. 

‘I’m grateful for the doctors at Weill Cornell who were amazing and the nurses and I’m grateful to my family and I’m grateful to friends like you who were there every single day. 

It’s unclear when Kotb will be back on the show, but her latest absence comes just a few weeks after she returned to work following her three-year-old daughter Hope’s hospitalization

Kotb missed two weeks of work while Haley spent several days in the ICU battling a health issue last month  

‘I want to say thank you for that. I love you.’

Later in the episode, she reflected on her daughter’s health scare and how it has given her a newfound perspective. 

‘I feel like, life is one way on a Monday — and we all have our Mondays and we complain about them. We’re like, “Oh, what a crummy Monday,” and then Tuesday rolls around and something really hits hard, and you realize that Monday was actually pretty awesome,’ Kotb told her fourth-hour co-host Jenna Bush Hager. 

‘So for us, it was little Hope had to go to the hospital, and she was in the ICU for a few days and then the hospital for another week and it was really scary. And she’s vibrant and brilliant.’

Kotb also shared how she was blown away that her youngest daughter has remained selfless and generous during her illness. 

‘The other day, she just got up from bed, and she was so sweet and cute, and she wasn’t feeling great,’ the mom explained. ‘She had in her hand two little confetti stars. 

Last week, Kotb revealed that her six-year-old daughter, Haley, has been struggling with all the attention Hope has been getting because of her health issue

‘All the attention is on Hope, and Haley wonders too, like, “I’m here. Here I am. See me. I need someone to carry me. Do what you’re doing for Hope, you know?”‘ she told Jenna Bush Hager

‘And I looked at her, ’cause I had just gotten out of the shower, and I turned, and she was sitting there. And she said, “I got two, Mom.” 

‘And I said, “Oh my gosh.” She goes, “One for me and one for you.” And I thought to myself, “This child, even when she’s not feeling good, she [is] still giving everything away.”‘

Last week, Kotb revealed that her six-year-old daughter, Haley, has been struggling with all the attention Hope has been getting because of her health issue. 

‘All the attention is on Hope, and Haley wonders too, like, “I’m here. Here I am. See me. I need someone to carry me. Do what you’re doing for Hope, you know?” I feel like there is a lot of that,’ she explained. 

Kotb added that there have been times in her own life when she didn’t feel like anyone was paying attention to her, but she believes they have made her stronger. 

“It’s weird,’ she said, ‘but I feel like I got most of my resilience in life because of that. You didn’t expect to always be seen and heard.’