Man who rescued 9 from Kentucky flood will appear with wife on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’

When Nathan Day heard calls for help in the dark during the historic July flooding in Eastern Kentucky, he jumped into the water and helped save nine people, including five children and two of his former schoolteachers.

Day and his wife Krystal Day, who are from Knott County, will appear in the season premiere of “The Kelly Clarkson Show” at 2 p.m. Monday on NBC affiliate LEX18. Day’s bravery will be spotlighted, confirmed Kelly Kimball, a spokeswoman for the show.

Kimball provided information on the segment that said, “Nathan and his wife Krystal join the show and describe the harrowing experience, calling it ‘the scariest thing he’s ever done in his life.’”

Pilot Pen awarded Nathan and Krystal Day $1,000 for their efforts, and Clarkson surprised the couple with a $20,000 donation to the Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund, according to show officials.

“The Kelly Clarkson Show” is produced and distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios.

Krystal Day told the Herald-Leader over the weekend that she could not discuss the show until it aired Monday.

Nathan Day told CNN in an interview soon after the flood that his wife helped in the rescue too. To rescue the neighbors’ children, he placed one under each arm and one on his back, he said.

One of the teachers he helped rescue was his second grade teacher. Another taught him in high school.

The teachers, Day told CNN, “mean so much to this community.”

Krystal Day said in a Facebook post that the show staff reached out to them and on the show they “talk about the devastation we are facing here in Eastern Kentucky.”

This story was originally published September 12, 2022 at 7:17 AM.