Bobby Thomas returned emotionally to the Today show on Thursday, entering the studio for the first time since her husband’s unexpected death 15 months ago.
The style editor’s husband, Michael Marion, died of a bacterial infection that led to organ failure in December 2020, at the age of 42, a year and a half after one’s father suffered a stroke.
Thomas, 47, teary reunited with hosts Hoda Cottb and Jenna Bush Hagger during the fourth hour of the show. “I cried before I left,” she said after hugging her two colleagues.
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Today, style editor Bobby Thomas returned emotionally to the morning show on Thursday 15 months after the unexpected death of her husband Michael Marion
Thomas reunited with today’s hosts Hoda Cott (left) and Jenna Bush Hager (right) during the show’s fourth hour, and each hugged her tightly.
“I was already crying before I left,” Thomas said after she took the stage
When they sat down after a short break, she recounted how “so many wonderful people have approached her in the last year, including Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town.
Schlapman’s first husband, Stephen Rhodes, died of a heart attack nearly 17 years ago, and she could tell what Thomas was going through.
“I never thought for a million years that a country star would reach out to offer comfort, but she had lost her husband in 2005,” she told the hosts.
One day I was driving in the car and she called me on the phone and said, “Do you miss being touched?” And I thought, “Yes!” And she said, “You need to book a massage.”
Thomas’ husband died of a bacterial infection that led to organ failure in December 2020, at the age of 42, a year and a half after suffering a stroke
A year after Marion’s stroke, he went for help, but then his health changed
In an essay published by Today, she wrote that seeing her husband’s tombstone “made the wound feel fresh for the first time”
“That was such good advice for me,” she said, explaining that her six-year-old son Miles is at the age when he hasn’t been hugged so often.
Thomas and her late husband welcomed their only child in 2016 after four rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF). She called him her “saving grace”, saying he was “so thoughtful” and “always smiling”.
“He is so strong. I call him my little Yoda, “she said. “On my birthday, he went upstairs to my neighbors,” he asked [them] to take him across the street to the Milk Bar to get me a piece of birthday cake because he wanted me to have one.
Thomas also announced during the segment that she will host a new project today called “Dear Bobby”, in which she will accept suggestions from viewers and help them navigate their own life challenges.
Thomas talked about how “so many wonderful people have connected with her” in recent years
She also announced that she will host a new project today called “Dear Bobby”, which will help viewers navigate their own life challenges.
Thomas attributes to Cott that she helped during the darkest moment of her life, saying she can’t even count how many times she sent her messages from heaven to check on her.
“I want to help as much as I can,” she said, explaining that she was inspired by all the messages of support she received after her husband’s death.
Before Thomas returned to the show, she wrote a powerful essay on how she had mixed feelings about returning to work.
Kimberly Schlapman of the Little Big Town was one of the people to turn to Thomas. Singer Stephen Rhodes’ first husband died of a heart attack in 2005
“I’ve been to Studio 1A more than a thousand times, but my knees are already weak when I think of going back inside,” she wrote. “It doesn’t make sense, because I’ve never known such support as the support I received from my family today.
“Maybe that’s all.” Maybe because I know that the moment Jenna shakes my hand, or Hoda looks at me with a huge heart and says, “Okay,” I’ll be revealed again. What pushes me forward is knowing I’m not alone. ‘
She added that talking about her grief and helping others with their own pain has helped her over the past year.
“When I carry the pain alone, it is severe. But when I talk about it or help someone else navigate theirs, it becomes easier, “she explained.
“I feel better when I work to help others feel better. This is my version of self-service and what brings me joy. This gives me a goal.
Thomas and Marion, a lawyer, met through friends 13 years ago, at a time when she wasn’t sure if she wanted to get married, but he changed her mind. They married at Cathy Lee Gifford’s house in 2013 and began trying to conceive, eventually resorting to IVF to meet their son.
Thomas and Marion, a lawyer, met through friends 13 years ago and married at Katie Lee Gifford’s house in 2013.
They welcomed their only child, Miles, in 2016 after four rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF)
Thomas called Miles her “saving grace,” saying he was “so thoughtful” and “always smiling.”
A mother of one child told how Miles asked their neighbors to take him across the street to give her a piece of cake for her birthday in October because he wanted her to have one.
In May 2019, he suffered a stroke, but slowly began to improve. A year later, he went for help, but then his health changed after a bacterial infection caused his organs to fail.
Marion died after spending five weeks in the intensive care unit.
“I didn’t know when we met that we would only be 13 years old. No one ever knows such things, “Thomas wrote in a heartbreaking essay for Today in June.
“I will continue to live this life without him as long as I am given and appreciate the 13 years he has given me. I know it’s time to celebrate, but it’s hard to celebrate while you’re hurt.
“I didn’t know when we met that we would only be 13 years old. No one ever knows such things, “Thomas wrote of her husband in a heartbreaking essay for Today in June.
Thomas shared several photos with her husband when she announced his death on Instagram in late 2020
“Nothing is normal. Maybe nothing will ever be normal again. It won’t happen to me. My husband is gone, “she wrote
Thomas and her son honored her husband with balloons the father’s day. “Miles wanted to make sure that his wishes for Father’s Day reached his father in heaven,” she explained on Instagram.
Thomas attributed to Cott that she helped during the darkest moment of her life, saying she couldn’t even count how many times she sent her messages from heaven to check on her.
“Hoda has been a constant support system in my life. She is one of the biggest reasons I developed into the show. She is a dear friend, “she said people.
“She was there when I went out with my husband. She was there when she got engaged. She was the one who made me have to keep my puppy and name my puppy on TV. ”
She added: “I went through all these markers in life with Hoda, and others were right there. But personally, to write me things like, “I see you and I love you, BT,” I mean, just about everything that’s going on in her life and all the people – with her daughters at the top of that list – needing her attention. , she can really connect with so many people.