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Today's Hoda Kotb Tearfully Reveals Plans for Her First Day Off After Retirement
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.
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images
“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.)
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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!
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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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