Hoda Kotb tells Carrie Underwood she looks the same post-accident

Last November, Carrie Underwood suffered a fall outside her home, which resulted in a broken wrist and injuries to her face that required more than 40 stitches.

In the months following the accident, Underwood kept a low profile and was rarely seen in public. Her full face was not in view in the photos she posted to social media, and she even penned a note to the members of her fan club on Jan. 1, warning them that her appearance might be altered the next time they saw her.

Here’s a bit more about her accident, which occurred while she was taking her dogs out for a walk.

‘I Might Look A Bit Different’

In Underwood’s fan letter, she wrote:

“And when I am ready to get in front of a camera, I want you all to understand why I might look a bit different. I’m hoping that, by then, the differences are minimal, but, again, I just don’t know how it’s all going to end up.”

In January, Underwood shared an X-ray image of her wrist that showed the extent of the injury—and it certainly looked painful.

“Last check up on the old wrist this morning!!” she wrote on her post. “Thanks, Dr. Wurth and my PT angel, Renee, a.k.a. ‘Bulldog’ for fixing me up!!! 😉 I’m good to go!”

As you can see, there is a piece of hardware in place.

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“In addition to breaking my wrist, I somehow managed to injure my face as well. I’ll spare you the gruesome details, but when I came out of surgery the night of my fall, the doctor told Mike (Fisher, Underwood’s husband, pictured below with her last October before her fall) that he had put between 40 and 50 stitches in.”

All the photos that Underwood shared in the months after her accident had her face partially covered, making it hard to see any visible injuries.

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In Underwood’s letter to fans, she wrote — a bit ominously — that there was part of the story that she hadn’t “been ready to talk about.”

“There is also another part of the story that I haven’t been ready to talk about, since I have still been living it and there has been much uncertainty as to how things will end up,” she wrote. “It’s crazy how a freak random accident can change your life.”

Between her letter and keeping her face out of the public eye, Underwood certainly kept fans guessing.

On Dec. 12 of last year, reality star Adrienne Gang of “Below Deck” spotted Underwood working out at a gym and tweeted a photo of herself alongside the star, who appeared healthy and happy:

Gang noted in her caption that she found Underwood “adorable and gracious,” noting that she didn’t notice anything remarkable on Underwood’s face and that she had no idea the singer had taken a fall.

Much Ado About Nothing?

As the star started to resurface, people were confused when she looked, basically, exactly the same. Expecting a major change in her appearance, fans began to feel that the singer had made much ado about nothing.

On May 10, Underwood appeared on NBC’s “Today,” and anchor Hoda Kotb said what everyone’s been thinking when she remarked, “I’m looking at you, and I feel like you look the same.”

Watch the clip below:

A Triumphant Return

Underwood called her fall a “freak accident” and credits her unchanged appearance to a “dedicated team of professionals who can spackle and paint and paste.”

With her accident now firmly in the rearview mirror, Underwood made a triumphant return to the spotlight when she earned a standing ovation singing her new single, “Cry Pretty,” at the Academy of Country Music Awards on April 15.

Kotb suggested that there was something different about the powerhouse performance, and Underwood agreed, saying that when you’re singing something that comes straight from the heart, “it’s easy to just be in the moment and be connected to it.”

A couple weeks later, se brought the house down when she performed an impassioned rendition of the the “Star-Spangled Banner” prior to the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs game in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 29.

Making the performance even more special, of course, was the fact that her her husband, Fisher, was playing for the Nashville Predators in their game against the Winnipeg Jets. The “proud hockey wife” even donned her husband’s jersey for the occasion.

Check out her awesome performance below:

Celebrating 10 Years At The Opry

Following this string of public appearances, Underwood celebrated another major milestone on May 11. The Grand Old Opry marked the singer’s 10th anniversary of her induction.

Based on one of her recent social media posts, it’s clear the singer is starting to feel more like herself.

We’re so glad Underwood is back and better than ever!