Leslie Odom Jr. says he and his family are isolating from each other and getting regularly tested for 10 days after he was the last in-studio guest on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" before DeGeneres announced last week that she had tested positive for COVID-19.
In a preview of Odom's interview that will air in full Friday on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, the Tony Award-winning "Hamilton" star shared an update on how his family is doing following the announcement by DeGeneres on Dec. 10 that she has COVID-19.
"First and foremost, I hope Ellen is well," he said. "I haven't spoken to her obviously, I hope she's doing OK. We're getting our tests every day for the next 10 days and quarantining from each other."
The quarantine also comes as Odom's wife, actor Nicolette Robinson, is pregnant with the couple's second child. They announced the news in November that they are expecting a baby boy in March to make a big sister out of their 3-year-old daughter, Lucy. He noted on TODAY that they've been wearing masks and "doing their best" to keep safe.
The busy couple have been spending much more time together for this pregnancy than Robinson's first because the pandemic has limited their usual travel for work.
"This pregnancy is really different from my last one, because he's here and we get to share this together as a family," Robinson told TODAY Parents in November. "It's been a real silver lining to having to be home right now."
They have still stayed busy, with both starring in and executive producing the rom-com miniseries "Love in the Time of Corona" in August. Odom also released his second holiday album, "The Christmas Album," in November.
They are hoping for a speedy return for DeGeneres, 62, who tweeted that she was "feeling fine" after testing positive and had notified anyone who had been in close contact with her. She plans on returning after the holidays.
She followed with an update Wednesday in an Instagram video, saying she feels "really good" except for one health issue.
"One thing that they don’t tell you is that you get, somehow, excruciating back pain,” she said. “Didn’t know that was a symptom but I talked to some other people. … Who knew? How come?"
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn't list back pain as a COVID-19 symptom, but does note that “muscle or body aches” can be one of the disease’s symptoms in addition to other signs like fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, headache and more.