Hoda Kotb picks up her daughter Haley Joy from school amid Today show absence

Hoda Kotb was spotted picking up her daughter Haley from school in New York City on Wednesday, the same day her mysterious absence from the Today show was revealed to be due to a “family health issue.”

The co-anchor, 58, was bundled up in a cozy white puffer coat and knit hat while walking with her six-year-old, who happily rode alongside her on her purple scooter.

The mother-daughter outing was the first time the journalist had been seen in public since her departure from the morning show.

Kotb was casually dressed in thin black slacks and black platform boots for the afternoon school run. Instead of a handbag, she carried a backpack over her shoulders and carried Haley’s cherry red LL Bean satchel in one hand.

The mother, who also has a three-year-old daughter, Hope, held a plastic sandwich bag filled with goldfish crackers and sweetly handed them to Haley as she ran down the sidewalk.

The little girl looked adorable in a light gray North Face coat, star print pants and black Velcro high-top sneakers. She also wore her trademark red glasses and a colorful helmet with rainbows and stars.

Before Kotb picked up Haley, she was seen walking. She wore a cream knitted hat and glasses, which she rarely wears.

She later swapped her hat for a playful gray one with a pom-pom on it and “Chow Time” written in white on the front.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kotb Today’s co-hosts finally spoke out about her unexplained absence from the morning show that has sparked concern among viewers.

“Many of you have wondered how (Hoda) is doing. We can tell you that Hoda is fine. She’s got a family problem she’s dealing with,” said Craig Melvin.

Melvin, who was accompanied by Sheinelle Jones and Al Roker, shared no other information about the health issue or who was affected.

The update came just a day after Kotb’s co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, 51, disappeared from the morning show mid-air after testing positive for COVID-19 for a third time on Tuesday.

Jones, who had co-hosted during Kotb’s absence, explained later in the show that Guthrie had gone home sick.

Savannah left early. She wasn’t feeling very well so she took a COVID test,” she explained. “It came back positive. As soon as we found out, she hurried home to rest. So Savannah, we love you. I hope you get well soon.’

Jones, Melvin and Roker all sent their best wishes to their absent colleagues, who made history in 2018 when they became the first-ever all-female team to co-anchor Today.

“We look forward to seeing Hoda and Savannah back at the desk here very, very soon,” Melvin said before Roker agreed, “that’s right. We love you both.’

Kotb’s last on-air appearance was on February 17, although she was seen alongside Jenna Bush Hager on a pre-recorded episode of Today with Hoda and Jenna on February 20.

People also quickly noticed that she wasn’t releasing an episode of her weekly podcast Making Space this week.

The TV personality has not yet publicly revealed her reason for absence.

However, the mother-of-two has continued to post inspirational quotes on her Instagram account, including one last week that said, “One day you’ll see how brave you’ve been.”

She then shared another post that read, “There are dark clouds,” the boy said. “Yes, but they go on,” said the horse. “The blue sky above never goes away.”

A third message posted by Kotb over the weekend read, “To the strong women. May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.’

She also shared a drawing of a sky with clouds that read “Choose hope,” which she captioned with two heart emojis.

The Today star regularly shares inspirational quotes on her feed, and she’s published a collection of her favorites in her books I Really Need This Today and This Just Speaks to Me.

The past year has been a period of adjustment for Kotb, who divorced her fiancé, Joel Schiffman, in January 2022 after eight years together.

She announced on the show that they were going their separate ways, explaining that they decided they were “better as friends and parents than as an engaged couple.”

Kotb insisted at the time that there was no bad blood between them, and they continue to raise their daughters together.

“Joel and I spent a lot of time praying and having meaningful conversations over the holidays, and we’ve decided that we’re better as friends and parents than as engaged couples,” she said at the time.

“So we’ve decided that we’re going to start this new year on our new path as loving parents to our adorably gorgeous children and as friends. It’s not like anything happened. They say relationships are sometimes meant to be there for a reason, a season or a lifetime. This was for a season.’

Kotb opened up about their breakup after Bush pointed out to Hager that she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring.

She admitted it felt “weird and uncomfortable” talking about it publicly, but added that she wanted to focus on the “joyful moments” they had together.

“Many women know what it feels like to change course in life. I feel like I can actually breathe in this moment, which is a strange feeling to feel. Sometimes in life you have to tell the truth,” she shared.