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‘Today’ Announces Hoda Kotb’s Retirement and Official End Date
Craig Melvin will be missing Hoda Kotb today and everyday.
The NBC anchor—who will be replacing Hoda after her final appearance on Today Jan. 10—shared what it's been like as the show gets ready to say goodbye to an icon of television.
"It's bittersweet," Craig exclusively told E! News at Start Today launch event in New York City on Jan. 7. "Everyday it's just a rollercoaster of emotions."
The 45-year-old shared that they have plenty of surprises planned for Hoda, who he called "the heart and soul" of Today, adding, "I'm really, really, really sad about it."
But it'll be a change for Craig, too, who will have to "get up a little earlier" for his new role.
And despite being someone who doesn't do "a lot of emotions," he admitted he's "also a little nervous about Monday,"
In fact, Craig has been feeling "excited and nervous every day in equal parts," noting that he's actually looking forward to his second show in Hoda's spot more than his first.
Ultimately, Craig is hopeful that they'll be able to maintain the spirit that makes the morning show special by not making any "radical changes."
Darren Gerrish/WireImage for Ralph Lauren; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Opportunity Network
"The idea is hopefully most viewers won't even notice much of a change," he said, before joking, "In fact, on Monday, I'm gonna wear a wig, and we're hoping that half the viewers [will be] like, ‘Oh, Hoda's doing something different with her hair.'"
As for Hoda, the longtime Today anchor first shared she would be leaving the show in September, partly to spend more time with her daughters Haley Joy, 7, and Hope Catherine, 5, who she shares with ex Joel Schiffman.
"Obviously I had my kiddos late in life," she explained, "and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time. And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world."
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images
And she was also thrilled that Craig would be taking over her role, telling him after he was announced in November, "You have all the things that this job needs. You're the right person for it."
To see more memorable moments from the Today family, keep reading.
—Reporting by Carolina Bermudez
(E! and Today are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
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"Another Halloween in the books," wrote the host as she celebrated the day with her daughter Haley Joy.
Carson and Siri's Bundle of Joy
The anchor and his wife announced the happy news when they welcomed their fourth child, Goldie Patricia Daly!
Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Megyn Kelly
Kelly has kept the lives of her three young children—Edward, Yardley, and Thatcher— relatively quiet, but she and her novelist husband make plenty of their own public appearances as a duo.
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Kathie Lee
Hoda's former co-host 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 mommy to two little ones, Vale Guthrie Feldman and Charles Max Feldman, with her husband Mike Feldman. She welcomed Charles into the world in December 2016.
Noam Galai/WireImage
Al Roker
The anchor and his wife, Deborah Roberts, are parents to Leila Roker and Nicholas Albert Roker.
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Willie Geist
The anchor of Sunday Today has been married to his wife, Christina, since 2003. They're parents to two children, George William Geist and Lucie Joy Geist.
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