Savannah Guthrie knows what it’s like to fill someone else’s shoes on the Today show.
This week marked the start of a new era of the weekday news program. Guthrie, 53, is now co-anchoring the show alongside Craig Melvin, who took over as full-time co-anchor of the NBC show’s first and second hours beginning on Jan. 13.
The new lineup comes after Hoda Kotb stepped down from her co-hosting seat after a 17-year run. She concluded her long tenure on the show during an emotional final farewell episode on Jan. 10.
Much like Melvin, 45, Guthrie stepped into the co-anchor role after a fellow colleague’s departure — although her circumstances were quite different.
Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin on ‘Today’ in November 2024.
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty
Guthrie famously was offered the job in 2012 following the abrupt departure of Ann Curry. In a new interview with ParadeGuthrie reflected on the promotion and how it was very unexpected.
“I came at a time of a lot of controversy for the show, and it wasn’t, I don’t think, a happy occasion, really — for anyone, including me,” she told the outlet.
“I was as terrified as I could possibly be because the bosses at the time had made a decision, and I quite literally was the last to know, and I was so afraid, and I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t last,” she continued.
At the time, Guthrie had already joined Today as the anchor of the 9 a.m. hour after working as a White House correspondent and chief legal analyst for NBC News in 2011. It was a role she was content with, she said.
“All my dreams had already come true,” Guthrie told Parade. “It didn’t need to get any better than that.”
“When I was offered the job, I was in tears,” she continued. “And it wasn’t because I didn’t dream of this job like everyone else does. It was because I was sure that it wouldn’t last and that I’d be thrown by the wayside within a few weeks or months. I’m so happy that I survived and I’m still here.”
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Savannah Guthrie (left) and Hoda Kotb on ‘Today’ in December 2024.
Nathan Congleton/NBC
Guthrie is now entering her 14th year with the Today show, and she worked alongside Kotb during that entire period. When it came time for her longtime colleague — and close friend — to finally sign off the air for the final time on Jan. 10, it was an emotional moment.
“When we thought how best to celebrate you, Hoda, and what you’ve meant to all of us, it was really just one word — love,” she told Kotb, 60, as she kicked off a tearful goodbye tribute to her. “You are love. And we love you. You’re all about it. We’re so inspired by you every day.”
Guthrie went on to gush about Kotb and describe her as “the ultimate people person” and someone who is “like a sister to me,” adding, “She’s so special, it’s almost beyond description.”
“Hoda, I love you. I love you deeply,” she continued. “And like I always tell you, whether you’re sitting next to me or not. Whether we get up at 4 o’clock in the morning together or not, I will always be by your side and you will always be by mine.”
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