Savannah Guthrie's Mom's Strength Taught Her to 'Survive the Unimaginable'
Savannah Guthrie Opens up About What Mom Nancy Taught Her About Grief

  • In her first interview since her mother went missing, Savannah Guthrie reflected on her decision to return to New York after mom’s disappearance, citing Nancy Guthrie’s advice: “Decide and do.”
  • Savannah said she learned about grief from how Nancy moved forward after the death of Savannah’s father at age 49. Nancy was 46, while Savannah was just 16.
  • Savannah also opened up about her faith amid Nancy’s disappearance, revealing the words she heard from God, calling it “one of the very few times in my life, I did hear God speak to me.”
  • Savannah’s full interview with Hoda is airing in three parts on TODAY on Thursday, March 26, and Friday, March 27.

Amid her mother’s disappearance, Savannah Guthrie says she’s leaning on the lessons Nancy Guthrie taught her about grief over the years.

Savannah’s 84-year-old mother disappeared overnight on Jan. 31, and authorities have described it as a potential kidnapping. Savannah, who has been absent from anchoring TODAY since the abduction, traveled to Tucson, Arizona, within hours of learning her mom was missing.

Savannah Guthrie Addresses Speculation Family Was Involved in Mom Nancy Guthrie's Disappearance

Savannah has since returned to New York and visited Studio 1A to see colleagues and staff on March 6.

Speaking to Hoda Kotb in her first interview since her mom was reported missing, Savannah reflected on her decision to return to the city.

“I looked out the window of the airplane (and) just thought, ‘Where are you?’ That desert, that beautiful desert that she loves, ‘Where are you? How could I leave you?’” Savannah recalled.

But she said she leaned on what Nancy taught her after her dad, Charles Guthrie, died at 49, when Savannah was 16 years old.

“My mom taught me a lot about grief. Our family knows grief,” Savannah said.

“I remember my mom saying in those early days when Daddy died, like, ‘You have to get up and decide and do. Just decide and do,’” she added. “She had read that in a book that meant a lot to her and her grief. And so I remember — I always remember that.”

Savannah said Nancy “showed us how to survive the unimaginable.” Nancy was 46 when her husband died. She had to find a job while caring for three kids, a brother who had Down syndrome and her own mother, Savannah said.

“She had a second life of purpose and meaning,” Savannah said of Nancy. “She had a million friends. She stayed strong for us. She was resolute. She was real.”

But she also grieved.

“Some mornings, before dawn, when she thought we were still sleeping, I would hear her crying at my door to not be alone in her grief,” Savannah said.

“She taught me to be strong, but she taught me to be true,” Savannah added.

So in the day-to-day since her mother’s disappearance, Savannah said she’s let herself feel both “terrible grief” and “unfathomable love and comfort.”

“The goodness and kindness of God is remarkable and in equal measure to my sorrow,” she said.

Savannah also shared what she heard God say to her amid her tragedy.

“One of the very few times in my life, I did hear God speak to me,” Savannah said.

She said at the time, she was telling herself, “I can handle anything, God. … I just can’t handle not knowing.”

“And I heard a voice, and it said, ‘You do know where she is. She’s with me. She’s with me,’” Savannah said. “So whether she is on this Earth still or whether she is in heaven, I know where she is. I know who she’s with. But we need to know.”