Savannah Guthrie Will Have to Be 'Totally Silent' for Weeks

Savannah Guthrie's 2026 will begin as an exceptionally quiet one. The 53-year-old Today co-anchor announced on air Friday that she'll undergo surgery early next year to remove vocal cord nodules and a polyp, People reports. "Some of you have noticed that my voice has been very scratchy and started to crack a little bit," she told viewers. And while it may have seemed like she had "the world's longest head cold," she's "really excited" to finally have a solution to a problem that has been "going on for years."

Post-surgery, Guthrie will be on strict vocal rest. She joked that being "totally silent" for a couple of weeks would feel like "Christmas coming early" for her family. Co-host Sheinelle Jones, who previously underwent the same procedure, tried to reassure her, calling the recovery period a "silver lining" because "you have permission to be still." Jones even passed along the whiteboard she used to communicate while she couldn't speak. It's not Guthrie's first medical detour: in 2019, she underwent eye surgery to repair a torn retina after a freak accident involving her young son and a toy. Today adds that she had cataract surgery in 2020 and another eye procedure in 2021.