Savannah Guthrie's Father Died Suddenly When She Was 16 — "I Knew Something Was Badly Wrong"

In May 2015, Today Show co-host Savannah Guthrie traveled to Australia for a very special trip. She brought her mother, Nancy Guthrie, to Australia, where they visited the hospital where Savannah was born. "It's a part of my history that I always treasured," said Savannah, "and I always promised to come back here and really see it."

Savannah was born in Melbourne because her father had been transferred there for work. This was the first time she and her mother had been back in Australia since they left 41 years ago. The mother-daughter duo also stopped by the house where Savannah spent the first two years of her life. Nancy pointed to a spot where a photo of Savannah and her father had been taken. He died when she was 16 years old. What happened? Here's what we know.

Savannah discussed her father's death with Hoda Kotb on her podcast, Making Space with Hoda Kotb. Charles Guthrie was only 49 years old when he died. According to Savannah, her father was a lifelong smoker who worked in his family's mine as a child. He was raised in southeastern Kentucky, where heart disease was common. He definitely lived a hard life, made more difficult by drinking and smoking.

Despite having a childhood that was marked by struggle, Charles was a magnetic person. He had a "joyous, charismatic, incredible, loving, warm, kind, forbearing, personality," explained Savannah. He was a "huge force." When Savannah was a freshman in high school, her father had his first heart attack. "I think he almost died," she recalled.

Two years later, Charles suffered another heart attack. This time it was fatal. Savannah was out with friends on a Friday night. When she got home, all the lights were on in the house. She walked into the living room and saw her mother and sister on the couch. Their heads were bowed. "I knew something was badly wrong," said Savannah.

Savannah remembered her mother coming to hug her and saying really quickly, "Dad died." It was shocking, and for Savannah, her father's death tore her whole world apart. "It changed everything for us," she said, "and I think a lot of my life has been a response to that."

"I don't think you ever get over your grief," said Savannah. She told a story about a time when she came into the Today Show and was thinking about what she was writing for an upcoming book. Savannah remembered the moment she realized she was going to have to dig into her grief in order to write the book. "I think I'm gonna have to touch it," she told Hoda.

Savannah knew she was incapable of "soaking in" the grief, but understood she had to address it. "I always think of grief as a cup of water that's full, and you carry it around," she said. Sometimes the cup splashes some water, and sometimes it's full, but it's always with you. It won't always hurt, but it's always there.