Bobbie Thomas made an emotional return to the Today show on Thursday, stepping into 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 age 42, a year and a half after the father of one suffered a stroke.
Thomas, 47, tearfully reunited with hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager during the show’s fourth hour. ‘I was already crying before I came out,’ she said after hugging her two colleagues.
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Today style editor Bobbie Thomas made an emotional return to the morning show on Thursday 15 months after the unexpected death of her husband, Michael Marion
Thomas reunited with Today hosts Hoda Kotb (left) and Jenna Bush Hager (right) during the show’s fourth hour, and each of them gave her a big hug
‘I was already crying before I came out,’ Thomas said after she stepped on stage
When they sat down after a quick break, she opened up about how ‘so many wonderful people reached out’ to her in the past year, including Kimberly Schlapman from the band Little Big Town.
Schlapman’s first husband, Steven Roads, died from a heart attack nearly 17 years ago, and she could relate to what Thomas was going through.
‘Never in a million years did I think 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 she said, “Do you miss being touched?” And I thought, “Yeah!” 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 age 42, a year and a half after he had a stroke
A year after Marion’s stroke, he was walking with assistance, but then his health took a turn
In an essay published by Today, she wrote that seeing her husband’s ‘gravestone for the very first time made the wound feel fresh’
‘That was such a good tip for me,’ she said, explaining that her six-year-old son, Miles, is at that age where he doesn’t be hugged as 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 is ‘so thoughtful’ and ‘always smiling.’
‘He is so strong. I call him my little Yoda,’ she shared. ‘On my birthday, he went upstairs to my neighbors’ to ask [them] to bring him across the street to 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 be hosting a new Today project called ‘Dear Bobby,’ in which she will be taking submissions from viewers and helping them navigate their own life challenges.
Thomas opened up about how ‘so many wonderful people reached out’ to her in the past years
She also announced that she will be hosting a new Today project called ‘Dear Bobby,’ in which she will be helping viewers navigate their own life challenges
Thomas has credited Kotb with helping through the darkest time in her life, saying she couldn’t even count the number of times she texted her out of the blue to check on her
‘I want to help in any way I can,’ she said, explaining that she was inspired by all the messages of support she’s received since her husband’s death.
Ahead of Thomas’ return to the show, she penned a powerful essay about how she had mixed feelings about returning to work.
Kimberly Schlapman from the band Little Big Town was among the people who reached out to Thomas. The singer’s first husband, Steven Roads, died from a heart attack in 2005
‘I’ve walked into Studio 1A more than a thousand times, yet my knees already feel weak when I think about stepping back inside,’ she wrote. ‘It makes no sense, as I have never known such support as the support I received from my Today family.
‘Maybe that’s it. Maybe it’s because I know the moment Jenna squeezes my hand, or Hoda, with her huge heart, looks at me and says, “It’s OK,” I will be exposed all over 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’m carrying pain all by myself, it’s heavy. But when I’m talking about it or helping someone else navigate theirs, it gets lighter,’ she explained.
‘I feel better when I’m working to help others feel better. That’s my version of self-care and what brings me joy. It gives me purpose.’
Thomas and Marion, a lawyer, met through friends 13 years ago, at a time when she wasn’t sure if she wanted to marry, but he changed her mind. They wed at Kathie Lee Gifford’s house in 2013 and began trying to conceive, ultimately resorting to IVF to welcome their son.
Thomas and Marion, a lawyer, met through friends 13 years ago and tied the knot at Kathie 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 is ‘so thoughtful’ and ‘always smiling’
The mother of one recounted how Miles asked their neighbors to take him across the street so he could get her a slice of cake for her birthday in October because he wanted her to have one
In May of 2019, he suffered a stroke, but he slowly started to improve. A year later, he was walking with assistance, but then his health took a turn 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 get 13 years. No one ever knows that kind of thing,’ Thomas wrote in a heartbreaking essay for Today in June.
‘I will continue living this life without him for as long as I’m given and cherish the 13 years he gave to me. I know that time is worth celebrating, but it’s hard to celebrate while you’re hurting.’
‘I didn’t know when we met that we would only get 13 years. No one ever knows that kind of thing,’ 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. For me, it won’t. My husband is gone,’ she wrote
Thomas and her son honored her husband with balloons last Father’s Day. ‘Miles wanted to make sure his Father’s Day wishes made it to Daddy in heaven,’ she explained on Instagram
Thomas credited Kotb with helping through the darkest time in her life, saying she couldn’t even count the number of times she texted her out of the blue to check on her.
‘Hoda has been a constant support system in my life. She’s one of the biggest reasons I evolved at the show. She’s a dear friend,’ she told People.
‘She was there when I was dating my husband. She was there through getting engaged. She actually was the one that nudged me to end up having to keep my puppy and name my puppy on television.”‘
She added: ‘I’ve gone through all those markers in life with Hoda, and others being right there. But personally, to have her text me things like, “I see you, and I love you, BT,” I mean, just with 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 genuinely is able to still connect to so many.’