Meredith Vieira is no diva, so when she showed up to help Hoda Kotb host the fourth hour of TODAY on Friday sporting sunglasses, there had to be a story behind it.
And there was! When Vieira removed those glasses, she revealed a seriously scary black eye. (Someone in the studio even went "ugh!")
"If you're going to laugh, I'm not going to tell you [how I got it]," she warned Kotb. And yet, it is a funny story (particularly since no serious damage was done).
Here's what happened: After returning home after a long flight from Los Angeles, Vieira was a little groggy and stumbled toward the bathroom in the dark (as many of us do when we're sleepy). Alas, on the way she collided with her black suitcase and hit her head on a dressing room table.
"If it had been a little bit lower, something bad could have happened," she said, and admitted her head did hurt (though she had a CAT scan and was cleared by doctors).
Her supportive husband Richard naturally had many kind things to say on his blog. Or not!
"I am the one in my house who has multiple sclerosis. I am the only one who is legally blind," he wrote, then slid into tongue-in-cheek mode. "Yet I survive because I have learned self-preservation. I am married to a woman who has not.
"Meredith is a klutz, like a drunken sailor on a bender who collides with stationary objects and is a danger to herself," he added. "It may be time to hire a sitter to protect the poor, dottering dear from herself, especially after dark."
This isn't even the first time Vieira has injured herself on the way to the bathroom; as she noted on TODAY, she fell into the toilet last year and wrenched her back. She blamed her husband. "The seat was up!" she said.
Fortunately, TODAY took a cue from Richard's blog post and hired a manservant for her for the day. Striding onto the set in just boxer shorts and a smile, he fanned Meredith with a pink feather fan and handed her an ice pack.
Never let it be said we don't take care of our klutzes! Er, special guests. Yes, that's it.