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Savannah Guthrie will return to “Today” on Monday after a two-month absence since her mother, Nancy, went missing on Feb. 1.
While Nancy Guthrie has not been found, her daughter will attempt to return to work after an unprecedented ordeal that put the “Today” anchor at the center of a national news story.
Last week, Guthrie explained why she wanted to return to NBC’s flagship morning show during an interview with colleague Hoda Kotb.
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“It’s hard to imagine doing it because it’s such a place of joy and lightness, I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not. But I can’t not come back, because it’s my family. I think it’s part of my purpose right now. I want to smile, and when I do, it will be real. And my joy will be my protest. My joy will be my answer, and being there is joyful, and when it’s not, I’ll say so,” Guthrie said.
“I consider this my family, and when times are hard you want to be with your family,” she continued. “And so I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t know if I’ll belong anymore, but I would like to try. I would like to try.”
Guthrie said she will not “be the same,” but suggested “maybe it’s like that old poem: ‘More beautiful in the broken places.’”
Guthrie’s return is expected to draw a larger-than-usual audience, but it’s unclear how “Today” producers will navigate her comeback. She has gone from someone tasked with presenting the news to being at the center of a tragic national story within a matter of months.
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“NBC is counting on Savannah Guthrie to deliver an overwhelming response from viewers. But it will also have to proceed carefully. After all, the return will be overwhelming for her, too,” Variety’s Brian Steinberg wrote.
“Today” is a cash cow for NBC, racking up hundreds of millions in advertising revenue last year, and Guthrie has starred on the show as a lead anchor for nearly 14 years. Her tenure has been steady even during major bumps for the top network morning show, including the scandalous exit of Matt Lauer in 2017 and the disastrous ouster of Ann Curry in 2012.
Nancy Guthrie is believed to have been taken from her home against her will. Her son-in-law dropped her off at home around 10 p.m. the night before she went missing from the same home the “Today” co-anchor grew up in. In the early morning hours, a masked man was seen on her doorstep and appeared to be armed with a handgun.
At around 2:30 a.m., her pacemaker made its last sync with her Apple devices, indicating a potential timeframe for when she was taken out of the home. Her watch and iPhone were recovered inside.
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A series of unverified ransom notes were sent to media outlets, including TMZ and a local Tucson station, leading many to believe the disappearance is somehow financially motivated. No suspects have been publicly identified.
Investigators and the family have repeatedly appealed to the public for help. There is a combined reward of more than $1.2 million in connection with the case — a million of it from the Guthrie family for their mother’s recovery. The family has asked anyone with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
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Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz and Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
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