Jenna Bush Hager was absent from the “Today” show last week, prompting millions of NBC viewers to wonder where the fourth-hour co-host had gone. On Monday morning, March 16, 2026, co-host Sheinelle Jones clarified that the 44-year-old was not ill or in trouble but simply on a family spring break.
Bush Hager was spending the week away from Studio 1A with her husband Henry Hager and their three children—daughters Mila and Poppy and son Hal. The break was timely, since she rarely takes a long time off from her busy morning schedule, and it was the first notable time away for either her or Jones since the revamped show began in January.
With Bush Hager out, NBC lined up a string of celebrity guest co-hosts to support Jones during the week. Internet personality Justin Sylvester opened the rotation on Monday, despite an eventful trip to the studio.
Sylvester took a red-eye from Los Angeles after covering the Oscars in California on Sunday, March 15. He arrived just over two hours before airtime and then had his car stopped en route to the studio. “Girl, I brushed my teeth in the back of a car!” he told Jones on air.
The longtime morning-show contributor also admitted he joked with officers at the traffic stop, claiming to be Craig Melvin to try to avoid a ticket.
After Sylvester’s Monday stint, the guest lineup included model Ashley Graham on Tuesday, actress Nia Long on Wednesday, and actor Darren Criss on Thursday, with Sylvester returning Friday, March 20, to finish the week.
Guest hosts are familiar ground for Bush Hager, who spent nearly a year working with more than 60 different co-hosts on “Today with Jenna & Friends” after Hoda Kotb’s departure in January 2025. Bush Hager likened that period to “dating” while NBC searched for a permanent co-host.
Sheinelle Jones was named Bush Hager’s permanent co-host on December 9, 2025, and debuted on January 12, 2026. Jones had previously taken an extended leave beginning in December 2024 to care for her husband, Uche Ojeh, during his battle with brain cancer. Ojeh passed away on May 23, 2025, at age 45, and Jones returned to “Today” in September 2025, about four months later.
Jones has openly discussed managing her grief while continuing on the morning show. “He was rooting for me all along. I owe it to him to keep going,” she told PEOPLE.
Bush Hager’s time off comes amid broader challenges for the “Today” team. Savannah Guthrie remains out of the early morning slot after her mother, Nancy Guthrie, was abducted from her Arizona home on February 1 and has not been found. The investigation is ongoing, and both Jones and Kotb have been filling in for Guthrie alongside Craig Melvin during the show’s first hour.
Guthrie has said she intends to return to NBC’s morning show, but the network has not provided a timeline for her comeback.
Also absent from Studio 1A on Monday was Al Roker; Dylan Dreyer filled in while reporting live from the 2026 Players Championship in Florida.
Despite the host changes, “Today” continues to showcase NBC’s depth of talent. The network’s ability to rotate guest co-hosts smoothly reflects the connections Bush Hager made during her year-long search for a Kotb replacement.
Bush Hager is expected back on “Today with Jenna & Sheinelle” the week of March 23, returning from vacation and ready to resume her role alongside Jones in the show’s fourth hour.
