Today's Savannah Guthrie candidly discusses negative body image and expectations for her children

October 2024 · 3 minute read

The Today Show host shares Vale and Charley with husband Michael Feldman

Savannah Guthrie opened up on the latest installment of the Today Show to her co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager about her relationship with food and body image.

The mom-of-two was part of a segment heralded by Jenna that dissected the way parents talked to their children about food and healthy eating habits.

When their personal experiences came into play, the 51-year-old praised Hoda's mother for having a positive outlook on her body, saying: "I am the first person to say I do not. And this terrifies me."

She explained that it limited the scope of conversation around that subject in her household, which she shares with husband Michael Feldman and their two children, Vale, eight, and Charley, six.

"I honestly think my kids barely even know the word 'fat'," she continued. "We don't say it, we would never discuss it. And I eat pizza with the kids every Friday night."

MORE: Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb discuss emotional 'end of an era' live on air

Savannah expressed her worry that her children would pick up on habits she displayed and develop negative ideas on how to eat healthy based on her own ingrained insecurities.

VIDEO: Savannah Guthrie's Family Life

"I do worry about all the little things I do and what they're watching," she said, describing an archetype of mom termed as the "almond mom," a viral TikTok trend built on the idea of a mother perpetuating harmful diet culture advice.

"That's what I worry that I'm doing during the week that they're seeing," she said, leading the three women to deliberate on how much social media had changed the conversation around image and appearance as well.

MORE: Today's Savannah Guthrie in near tears during highly personal moment on show

Jenna described how her own mother would rarely talk about such issues, but that was something she grew to develop on her own throughout her childhood in the spotlight as the daughter of a President.

"Make sure you're saying to your kids that they're beautiful," she added, with her co-hosts mentioning she'd write about it in her journal.

"Where does that come from?" Savannah asked, heartbreakingly confessing: "It breaks my heart. I remember, I've never had a time when I felt good in my own body.

MORE: Today show hosts lose it live on air after hilarious jibe from co-star – watch

"And I don't think my parents put that on me, but where does it come from and how do we take that head on is so important, especially for our girls."

While Savannah is mom to daughter Vale, Hoda shares her adopted girls Haley, six, and Hope, three, with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman, while Jenna and husband Henry Hager are parents to daughters Mila, 10, and Poppy, seven (plus youngest son Hal, three).

MORE: Savannah Guthrie's alternate living situation away from $7.1 million home impacting time on Today

The segment ended on a light-hearted note when they cut to Al Roker for the weather, who quipped: "See that's the problem, most guys feel pretty good."

The comment left the three hosts in hysterics, with Savannah commenting: "We've gotta borrow it from them. When I tell [Michael] he looks cute, he says 'Thanks, I feel cute.'"

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