Jenna Bush Hager Faces Backlash as 'Today' Co-Host Savannah Guthrie Breaks Down in Tears on Live TV Over Missing Mom Nancy
Savannah Guthrie wiped away tears while speaking with Jenna Bush Hager.
June 8 2026, Published 6:20 p.m. ET
Four months after her mother's disappearance, Savannah Guthrie admitted she's still struggling emotionally with the unresolved mystery – but her friend Jenna Bush Hager's reaction has drawn backlash.
The Today show host has returned to her duties on television, but hasn't been shy about the difficulties she faces. While speaking with Hager on the morning show with Jenna & Sheinelle, Savannah, 54, became teary-eyed as she said she's been "trying so hard to hold it together," RadarOnline.com can reveal. Hager, too, became emotional, but her tears didn't receive quite an understanding response from fans.
Jenna Bush Hager Receives Criticism
Savannah Guthrie got vulnerable about balancing work with her emotions.
Savannah explained she cries "every morning on the way to work" and "every morning on the way home."
The TV star even admitted she wouldn't have come back to work if it weren't for her public-facing role. "I don't know if I had any other type of job," she confessed. "If I would have come back."
She explained that it's difficult for her to "keep it together," but vowed to fans she will.
During her tearful admission, Savannah shared advice she believed her mother would have given her and noted, "And my mom would have said the same, like, 'Honey, you know, just keep going. Just keep going."
Hager, 44, who was interviewing Savannah, emotionally praised her "strength" and ranted with tears in her eyes. She said, "You coming back here and leading the ship, which I know has not been easy, and yet here you are morning after morning, getting out of bed, spending the morning with us, and I know so many of you at home feel the same way."
Fans, however, weren't moved by Jenna. One wrote on X, "Jenna is such a drama queen."
"Jenna Bush is a dumb---," another blasted.
Nancy Guthrie Remains Missing After Four Months
Savannah Guthrie returned to the 'Today' show months after her mother's disappearance.
After her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, went missing from her Tucson, Arizona home on February 1, Savannah took a brief absence from her Today show post. She flew to the southwest to be with her siblings as the investigators searched for their beloved mother.
She returned to the show on April 6.
Savannah explained that, in moving forward, she's learning to balance her life. "We can hold our sadness, and we can hold our joy," she said. "If you don't believe me, just watch me."
'We Are In Agony'
Nancy Guthrie remains missing four months later.
Before her official return to NBC, Savannah was vulnerable in a sit-down interview with Hoda Kotb on Dateline.
During the confessional, she recanted how she emotionally coped with the disappearance of her mother. She also pleaded for her safe return, a request that has still gone unfulfilled.
In the March interview, she said, "Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony. We are in agony. It is unbearable."
At the time, Savannah explained she had not yet lost hope. That sentiment appears to be the same to date.
On June 7, alongside a photo of a painting that depicts Christ's ascension, Savannah wrote on her Instagram story, "Oh my, my soul it cries out, soul, it cries out. Bring her home."
Nancy Guthrie's Disappearance Remains Unsolved
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Ransom notes hit the media in the days following her diappearance.
Nancy was reported missing when she failed to arrive at a friend's home in Arizona. Authorities were called to her Catalina Hills residence, where they quickly worried something more insidious was at play. Homicide investigators were brought to the scene based on immediate signs of a potential abduction.
Investigators' fears appeared to be confirmed when ransom notes hit the media. The letters demanded Bitcoin in exchange for Nancy's return, which the family initially agreed to send. However, a deadline passed without currency movement amid reported concerns that the notes may not be legitimate.
Authorities eventually obtained video surveillance from the property, including a doorbell camera video showing a masked man entering the home.
