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Her BFF! Jenna Bush Hager<\/strong><\/a> opened up about Hoda Kotb\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> absence from the Today<\/em><\/a> show following her daughter\u2019s hospitalization \u2014 and the bond that\u2019s been formed between the two co-anchors.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHoda makes my life full,\u201d Hager, 41, told Entertainment Tonight<\/em><\/a> in an interview published on Thursday, March 9. \u201cAnd it\u2019s so interesting, but you don\u2019t really know until somebody\u2019s kind of gone, unexpectedly, how much you depend on them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Hager, who has hosted Today With Hoda & Jenna<\/em> alongside Kotb, 58, since 2008, told the outlet that she wrote a note to her longtime pal explaining how much their friendship means to her<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t even know if you know, how much you impact my life,\u201d she recalled writing to the Oklahoma native while tearing up.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kotb returned to Today on Monday, March 6, after a lengthy absence from the live tapings. The children\u2019s book author revealed that her 3-year-old daughter, Hope, had been in the hospital. (Kotb shares Hope and daughter Haley Joy, 6, with ex-fianc\u00e9\u00a0Joel Schiffman<\/strong><\/a>.)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy youngest [daughter], Hope, was in the ICU for a few days and in the hospital for a little more than a week,\u201d Kotb told cohost Savannah Guthrie<\/strong> <\/a>at the time. \u201cI\u2019m so grateful she\u2019s home. \u2026 I was waiting for that day to come. And we are watching her closely. I\u2019m just so happy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While detailing her daughter\u2019s recovery on Monday, Kotb recalled a sweet interaction she had with her little one. \u201cThe other day \u2026 she had in her hand two little confetti stars, and she said, \u2018I got two, Mom. One for me and one for you,\u2019\u201d she recounted. \u201cAnd I thought to myself, \u2018Even when she\u2019s not feeling good, she\u2019s still giving everything away.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The This Just Speaks to Me<\/em> author also reflected on the care her daughter received<\/a> while in the hospital and expressed her gratitude to the medical experts who helped her.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen your child is ill, the amount of gratitude you can have for people who helped you out \u2026 I\u2019m grateful for the doctors at Weill Cornell who were amazing and the nurses,\u201d she gushed. \u201cAnd I\u2019m grateful to my family. Kotb later revealed that Hope is out of the hospital and doing well<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s vibrant and brilliant,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m over the moon that she\u2019s home.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The following day, Kotb took to social media to thank fans<\/a> for their ongoing messages of love and support.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have read your notes \u2026 your posts \u2026 thank you,\u201d she tweeted on Tuesday, March 7. \u201cMeans more than you will ever know xo.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Following her co-anchor\u2019s return earlier this week, Hager \u2014 who shares daughters Mila, 9, and Poppy, 7, and son Hal, 3, with husband Henry Chase Hager<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 told ET<\/em> that Kotb shared a message which put things in perspective.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think\u00a0she said it best. She said, \u2018You know, it\u2019s a Monday and then it\u2019s an ordinary day, and things can change in a second<\/a>.\u00a0And I\u00a0am just so grateful that I have a partner in television that appreciates every single moment, and encourages me to do the same,\u201d Hager shared on Thursday. \u2018And I have these three precious children who mean everything to me. So, it\u2019s\u00a0nice that we both have our priorities in check.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n