Craig Melvin's devastating family history revealed as Hoda Kotb successor named

Craig Melvin opened up about his devastating family history live on the Today show on Thursday morning as he was officially announced as Hoda Kotb's replacement.

As his cohost, Savannah Guthrie, confirmed the exciting news, Craig took the opportunity to praise his parents, Lawrence and Betty, and revealed that his father was 'born in prison.'

'I talked to Mom and Dad yesterday. I'm thankful that they're still young enough and healthy enough to be able to see this and enjoy the fruits of their labor, and you all know my back story,' he said.

'My mother's mother was an elementary school custodian, and my father's mother had to take care of five kids, so she ran numbers and ran liquor for a long time and ended up in prison.'

'My dad was born in prison, that didn't define him. He overcame addictions in his life and he's become one of my favorite human beings,' Craig continued as his voice broke slightly.

'And my mom, at one point, picks up a second job to sacrifice and provide for our family, and so I'm grateful to them,' he added, fighting back tears. 

The father-of-two went on to thank his partner, Lindsay Czarniak, and said: 'My wife, Lindsay, who has endured 13 years of me, and God bless her. And even before that, she was along for the beginning of this professional journey. 

'I talked to her this morning, she's traveling, and we had a nice moment and I'm just so thankful for her and dealing with years of... you know what this job is? I mean it's a lot of long days and short nights, and she's been there for me from the beginning.'

'And my kids, who make me proud every day, I love them and this place,' he continued, referring to his 10-year-old son, Del, and his daughter, Sybil, who will turn eight this month.

Speaking about his Today role, he then said: 'People see us on TV every morning, what they don't see are the folks behind these cameras and downstairs, we have the best team in television news and I'm honored to be a part of that.

'I am beyond excited and grateful, and I just, you know, I've had a lot of conversations yesterday with a lot of people who mean a lot to me, and I just want to obviously thank NBC and the folks here who have deemed me worthy.'

Craig also took the opportunity to mention his faith as he thanked 'the man upstairs.'

'Thanking my Lord above and his son, Jesus, and I've enjoyed just a lifetime of blessings, and this is the latest in a long line of blessings,' the TV star added.

Craig first joined NBC-affiliate WIS-TV in Columbia, South Carolina as a high school student, working as an 'Our Generation Reporter' from 1995 to 1997. 

After graduating college, he returned to WIS in July 2001 as a news photographer and producer, before becoming a reporter for the station's morning news team, producing his 'Craig Cam' live segments.

He was later promoted to news anchor for the weekend morning newscast and the weekend evening edition before heading up the weekdays. 

In July 2008, he made the decision to leave WIS-TV to join NBC's owned-and-operated station in Washington, D.C., WRC-TV, where he anchored the weekend evening newscasts. 

Three years later, in July 2011, Craig departed WRC-TV for MSNBC to become a daytime anchor, while also contributing to NBC News as a reporter. 

And in 2018, he reported from Pyeongchang County in South Korea for NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics and he was also promoted to weekday news anchor on Today in September of that year and formed the cast of hosts heading Today Third Hour.