Jenna Bush Hager couldn’t help but gush over her TV bestie and fellow Today with Hoda & Jenna co-host, Hoda Kotb — who returned to the studio earlier this week after two full weeks off the air due to a health scare that landed her young daughter in the ICU.

Hager, who joined the fourth hour of Today back in 2019 after Kathie Lee Gifford left the show, told Entertainment Tonight that Kotb makes her “life full,” before adding, “you don’t really know until somebody’s kind of gone, unexpectedly, how much you depend on them.”

Hager’s voice began to crack as she continued, “I mean, I knew I adored her, but I wrote her when she came back and I said, ‘I don’t even know if you know how much you impact my life.'”

Worried viewers first noticed Kotb was missing from her hosting duties on both The Today Show and Today with Hoda & Jenna on Feb. 20. After her absence lasted for more than one week, her Today Show co-host Craig Melvin revealed that she was dealing with a “family health matter,” but did not provide further details.

Fortunately, Kotb returned to both seats at the start of this week, where she told viewers that her three-year-old daughter Hope was “in the ICU for a few days and hospitalized for a little more than a week.” She added that Hope was “back home” and assured that they were “watching her closely.”

Elsewhere in the interview with ET, Hager further expressed how “grateful” she is for her friendship with Kotb.

“I think she said it best. She said, ‘You know, it’s a Monday and then it’s an ordinary day, and things can change in a second,'” Hager said. “And I am just so grateful that I have a partner in television that appreciates every single moment, and encourages me to do the same.”

Today with Jenna & Hoda airs on weekdays at 10 a.m. ET on NBC.