Hoda Kotb’s Emotional Unexpected Reunion on ‘Today’

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Hoda Kotb got a visit from some folks from her past that made her emotional on camera.

On the Tuesday, December 7, episode of the Today show, Kotb, 60, started crying after being surprised by the family of Erin Ludwig, a woman who suffered from breast cancer and succumbed to the disease in 2017.

The host was greeted by Ludwig’s husband, Jason, and her kids, Savannah and Audrey, after co-host Savannah Guthrie brought the family to surprise Kotb eight years after their original appearance on the show. The Ludwig family gifted the host flowers and stuffed animals meant for Kotb’s two daughters, Hailey, 7, and Hope, 4.

Jason talked about the moment they were invited back on the show and said, “We would not miss this for the world,” before adding, “When we first got the call that we were asked to come back, [I] sat with the girls, we talked, and without a doubt, we all decided we wanted to come back and be here for you, Hoda. You have touched our lives in ways you have no idea.”

Kotb, who is a breast cancer survivor herself, met Ludwig and her family in 2016 while celebrating other women who struggled with the disease through a series on the Today show known as #PinkPowerToday. The two became close before Ludwig’s death at the age of 35.

The mother-of-two composed herself and wiped the tears from her face as she articulated how she was feeling after the surprise, telling her co-host and the Ludwig family, “I can’t believe this moment happened,” and later adding, “You guys, I can’t. I don’t know how to say thank you. I can’t wait to tell my girls about you girls. It’s going to be pretty cool.”