We’re sure the Today hosts, anchors, and meteorologists would rather report the headlines than become them, but over the years, NBC viewers have woken up to dramatic headlines involving the morning show’s staff. Just this month, coanchor Savannah Guthrie’s mother disappeared in a case authorities are investigating as an abduction.
Here’s how the Today team has covered developments involving their colleagues — health scares, family losses and changes, job transitions, and the infamous Matt Lauer scandal — live on NBC’s airwaves.
1998: Death of Katie Couric’s husband
Then-Today co-anchor Katie Couric lost her first husband, NBC News legal analyst Jay Monahan, to colon cancer in January 1998, and she addressed her grief — and thanked viewers who sent their condolences — when she returned to the morning show.
“Words, of course, of course will never describe how devastating this loss has been for me and my daughters, and all of Jay’s family as well, but the heartfelt and compassionate letters and cards that so many of you sent to me were enormously comforting, and I’m so grateful,” she said. “I’m also grateful to those who have made contributions to the National Cancer Institute in Jay’s memory. It is my profound hope that the money can be used to help eradicate this terrible disease…”
2007: Hoda Kotb’s breast cancer diagnosis
In February 2007, mere months before she started cohosting Today’s fourth hour, Hoda Kotb was diagnosed with breast cancer. That October, she sat down with colleague Ann Curry to talk about her medical scare. “I’m hoping that me telling about my journey and the kind of hell I went through will help somebody at home who thinks ‘Oh god, I’m by myself,’ or ‘Oh no, there’s just me,’” she said at the time. “Because it’s not just you. It’s never just you. You know, there’s a whole bunch of us out there.”
As Kotb explained to Curry, the diagnosis inspired her to make the leap from Dateline correspondent to Today cohost. “I don’t think I’d be doing our show if I hadn’t been sick,” she said. “I do think cancer gave me the gift of … being fearless. Cancer gave me the headline, ‘You can’t scare me.’ That takeaway was the biggest thing I’ve ever gotten.”
2012: Ann Curry’s exit
After a week of rumors of her being replaced as co-anchor for lack of chemistry with fellow anchor Matt Lauer, Curry announced her Today departure on the morning show in a June 2012 episode.
“This is not as I expected, to ever leave this couch, after 15 years [at NBC]. But I am so grateful, especially to all of you who watch,” she told viewers. “For all of you who saw me as a groundbreaker, I’m sorry I couldn’t carry the ball over the finish line, but man, I did try.”
Viewers spotted awkwardness between her and Lauer during that onscreen farewell: Curry seemed to avoid making eye contact with him and appeared to flinch when he kissed her head.
2017: Matt Lauer’s firing
Kotb made her informal debut as Guthrie’s coanchor in November 2017 as the two women reported the breaking news that NBC News had terminated Lauer. As Guthrie informed viewers, NBC News received a complaint about inappropriate sexual behavior by Lauer and had reason to believe it “may not have been an isolated incident.”
An emotional Guthrie said she was heartbroken for Lauer and for his accuser. “We are grappling with a dilemma that so many people have faced these past few weeks: How do you reconcile your love for someone with the revelation that they have behaved badly?” she said. “And I don’t know the answer to that.”
2018: Megyn Kelly’s cancellation
NBC canceled Megyn Kelly Today in October 2018 after host Megyn Kelly expressed skepticism on air that Halloween costumes involving blackface were racist. Following the cancellation, Kotb, meteorologist Al Roker, and then-Today news anchor Craig Melvin filed in as hosts of the morning show’s third hour, and Kotb acknowledged the transition on air without naming Kelly.
“Today, as you know, we are starting a new chapter in the third hour of our show,” Kotb said in that first post-Kelly episode. “As it evolves, we want you to know the entire Today family will continue to bring you informative and important stories, just as we always have.”
2020: Al Roker’s prostate cancer diagnosis
Cancer touched the Today family again in 2020: Roker announced that November that he’d been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He said he and doctors caught the disease early, but his case was “a little aggressive,” so he’d be taking time off from the show to seek treatment.
“I just decided that I wanted to go public with this because one in nine men are going to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, but for African-American men, that number is one in seven and [it’s] more deadly. So if you detect it early, this is really treatable disease, and it’s why I wanted to take you along [on] my journey so we can all learn together how to educate and protect the men in our lives.”
2022: Hoda Kotb’s breakup with Joel Schiffman
Kotb opened up about her personal life on Today again in January 2022 when she announced the end of her engagement to Joel Schiffman, with whom she has two children. As she remarked on Today With Hoda & Jenna, viewers had written in to ask why she wasn’t wearing her ring.
“We decided we’re better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple,” she elaborated. “He’s a great guy. He’s a very kind and loving person, and I feel privileged to have spent eight years with him. We are both good, and we’re both kind of going on our way and our path.”
2025: Death of Sheinelle Jones’ husband
Today cohost Sheinelle Jones’s husband, Uche Ojeh, died of brain cancer in May 2025, and her colleagues gathered on the morning show’s couch to share the news with viewers and introduce a video package about Jones and Ojeh’s relationship.
“There are no words for the pain that we feel for Sheinelle and their three young children,” a tearful Guthrie said in that segment. “Uche was an incredible person. We all loved him. And so we want to take a moment to tell you more about the remarkable man who was Sheinelle’s perfect partner in life.”
2025: Dylan Dreyer’s separation
Today meteorologist Dylan Dreyer announced on Instagram in July 2025 that she and husband Brian Fichera had separated recently, and in an appearance on Today with Jenna & Friends that November, she opened up about how she and Fichera “reframed” their relationship.
“We are no longer husband and wife,” she said. “And all those things that were broken — I don’t hold them against [him] because we’ve accepted they’re broken. That’s why we separated. Now let’s move forward as friends.”
2026: Disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mother
The day after Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Savannah, was reported missing in Arizona in early February 2026, Today opened its broadcast with the news, with Jones filling in for Savannah at the anchor desk. Melvin, now Guthrie’s coanchor, called it “a deeply personal story” for the NBC News team, and Jones said they were “sending [their] love.” The following day, Today aired a montage of Nancy’s appearances on the show.
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