Hoda Kotb got emotional during a candid Today segment with Jennifer Garner and her mom, Patricia English Garner, on Monday, June 24.
Hoda, 59, was seen wiping away tears while asking Pat, 86, about the recent loss of her husband, William Gardner.
“Another thing we admire about you is your husband passed a little bit ago, and I can only imagine how hard it was to get out of bed, to just start another day, but one day you just decided, ‘Today’s the day,’” Hoda told Pat during the episode.
“Well, I pretty much decided anyway, before, that I would be all right. I was so worried about being a widow and then one day I had an epiphany, ‘You will be alright,’” Pat said as Hoda wiped a tear from her eye. “And I really have been alright. Now, I miss him and I so wanted to tell him I was gonna be on the Today show.”
Jennifer was also visibly emotional while recalling memories of her late father.
“He loved how much people love you, so he would be right there smiling,” the Family Switch actress reflected during the chat with Hoda and cohost Savannah Guthrie.
She first announced her dad’s death on social media in April, penning a heartfelt tribute.
“My dad passed peacefully Saturday afternoon. We were with him, singing Amazing Grace as he left us (did we carry him across or scare him away— valid question.) While there is no tragedy in the death of an 85 year old man who lived a healthy, wonderful life, I know grief is unavoidable, waiting around unexpected corners,” she captioned her post. “Today is for gratitude. We are grateful for Dad’s gentle demeanor and quiet strength. For how he teased with a mischievous smile, and for the way he invented the role of all in, ever patient girl dad. We are grateful for his work ethic, leadership and faith.”
Jennifer revealed that her dad was “surrounded by his daughters and grandchildren” when he passed away.
“There is so much to say about my dad — my sisters and I will never be done talking about how wonderful he was, so bear with us — but for today I share these memories with my appreciation for the kind and brilliant man, father, and grandfather he was, as well as the loving legacy he left behind,” she concluded in the post.
Hoda told Jennifer that she admired the post she made about her father when announcing the news of his death to the public.
“Oh yeah, I mean how lucky to grow up with parents like mine. I’ve always been aware of it, my sisters and I are … we’re always really aware,” the Alias alum told the Today audience.
Jennifer, who shares kids Violet, Fin and Samuel with ex-husband Ben Affleck, praised her mom for being such an influential figure in her life.
“I mean, I have a pretty special mom,” she said. “So, my mom is not judgmental of people or of things or if things are happening to you. She is just kind of gifted at giving to people and seeing what people need and just quietly taking care of them.”
“She also is a mom who just doesn’t believe in guilt,” Jennifer said, as Pat added, “I do not. Guilt is a useless emotion.”
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