Craig Melvin is stepping into his new role—but not without shedding a few tears.
Three days after Hoda Kotb marked the end of her nearly two decades at Today, Craig took his seat next to Savannah Guthrie early this morning to begin his tenure as co-anchor of the NBC morning show.
“You’ve sat there so many times but this morning is special,” Savannah, 53, said at the beginning of the Jan. 13 episode of Today. “Let’s go, this is going to be a beautiful ride.”
“And there’s no one I would rather ride with than you,” Craig responded, “so let’s do this.”
The 45-year-old’s new tearful journey comes seven years after joining the 3rd hour of Today, following three years as a weekend co-anchor. And during a conversation with Savannah and NBC Sports broadcaster Mike Tirico, Craig reflected on how things would change now that he has taken over Hoda’s role—taking into account some words of wisdom from his predecessor.
“Hoda gave me some advice,” Craig explained. “If you start changing things, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Who you've been and what you've done has gotten you to where you are.”
“I'm going to show up earlier. I'm going to bring Savannah a cup of coffee every morning," he continued. "I think that's all I can do."
After all, Savannah revealed that there was really no question as to who would be taking over after Hoda’s emotional exit.
“He was elected by a super, super, super majority,” she noted. “He was the consensus choice. I'd say it was never really a choice. It was obvious."
As for what Hoda is up to on her first day off? She is taking the time to relax, and most importantly, sleep in.
“No alarm,” she captioned her Jan. 12 Instagram post showing a series of unset alarms from 3am to 3:30, “whaaaaaaaattttt???”
And while the 60-year-old was not there in-person to celebrate Craig’s big first day, she left an unexpected message—including a heartfelt poem—for him to read during the show.
“Craig-or!” Hoda said in her prerecorded message. “It’s your first day. How does it feel? First of all, I’m so proud of you, and I wanted to let you know just how proud of you I am, because, first of all, you’re going to be fantastic.”
But the surprises didn’t end there. Along with Hoda’s sentimental rhymes, a gymnasium full of Craig’s hometown family and friends gathered in Columbia, South Carolina, to show their support—including his middle school principal Dr. Carlos Smith. And, to top it all off, his family made a surprise appearance in Studio 1A to cheer him on during his first day as co-anchor—including his wife Lindsay Czarniak and kids Delano, 10, and Sybil, 8.
"What makes me so proud is just the person that Melvin is and understanding it's the kindness and how genuine he is,” Lindsay said, “so we're just excited and pumped.”
Even his parents, Betty Jo and Lawrence Melvin, joined him on the show along with his younger brother, Ryan Melvin, who flew all the way from South Carolina for the special moment.
"I had butterflies in my stomach today," Betty Jo said. "He has proven to me and everybody else that he has done his very best, and he deserves this. We love you."
To see more memorable moments from the Today family, keep reading…
(E! and Today are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Sheinelle Jones
The cohost of the third hour of Today shares son Kayin as well as twins Uche and Clara with her late husband Uche Ojeh, who passed away in May 2025 after a courageous battle with brain cancer.
“With all three of my children, I try to show them that they're ALL a team, and they have to take care of each other," Sheinelle wrote in a 2015 essay for Today. “At the same time, I'm learning that they each like to know they're special on their own."
Craig Melvin
Three years after the anchor married fellow broadcaster Lindsay Czarniak in 2011, he earned his most cherished title yet: father.
And now, he seizes every opportunity to gush about their son Delano and daughter Sybil.
"When I wake up in the morning," Melvin said to his son during a May 2024 episode of Today, "part of the reason I work so hard is for you and your sister."
Jenna Bush Hager
The Today with Jenna & Friends cohost and her husband Henry Hager are proud parents to kids Mila, Poppy and Hal.
As she put it during a March 2025 episode of the morning show, “I’m pretty sure I’ve come to terms that three, even though it’s an imperfect number, it’s the perfect number for our household."
Hoda Kotb
"Another Halloween in the books," wrote the former host as she celebrated the day with her daughter Haley Joy.
She is also mom to daughter Hope Catherine.
Lester Holt
The former NBC Nightly News anchor shares sons Stefan Holt and Cameron Holt with his wife Carol Hagen.
But more recently, he became a proud "granddude" to three grandchildren: Henry, Samuel and James.
“When my daughter-in-law was pregnant with her first baby ... she said, ‘Well, what do you guys want to be called?’" Holt said on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2021. "I said, ‘I think I want to be ‘Granddude’ because ‘grand,’ it bows to the fact that I’m older. But ‘dude’ says, ‘I still got a little bit. I still got a little,’ you know?"
Carson Daly
In 2020, the anchor and his wife Siri Pinter welcomed their fourth child, Goldie. The little one joined the couple's older kids Jackson, Etta and London.
Kathie Lee
Hoda's former cohost is a loving mommy to her own two children, Cassidy Gifford and Cody Gifford, with her late husband Frank Gifford.
Savannah Guthrie
The TV personality is a mom to two little ones, Vale Guthrie Feldman and Charles "Charley" Max Feldman, with her husband Mike Feldman.
Al Roker
The anchor and his wife Deborah Roberts are parents to Leila Roker and Nicholas Albert Roker.
Willie Geist
The anchor of Sunday Today has been married to his wife Christina Geist since 2003. They're parents to two children, George William Geist and Lucie Joy Geist.