Craig Melvin opened up about his devastating family history live on the Today show Thursday morning, when he was officially announced as Hoda Kotb’s replacement.
While 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 am grateful that they are still young and healthy enough to be able to see this and enjoy the fruits of their labor, and you all know my backstory,” he said.
“My mother’s mother was an elementary school administrator, and my father’s mother had to take care of five kids, so she ran the numbers and the liquor for a long time and ended up in jail.”
‘My father was born in prison, that didn’t define him. He overcame addiction in his life and he has become one of my favorite people,” Craig continued as his voice broke a little.
“And my mother at some point takes a second job to sacrifice and provide for our family, and so I’m grateful,” he added, fighting back tears.
Craig Melvin opened up about his devastating family history live on the Today show Thursday morning as he was announced as Hoda Kotb’s replacement
Craig pictured himself on his graduation day with his mother, Betty, and his father, Lawrence, as well as his brother
The father of two then thanked his partner, Lindsay Czarniak, saying, “My wife, Lindsay, who put up with me for 13 years, and God bless her. And even before that, she was at the beginning of this professional journey.
“I talked to her this morning, she’s traveling, and we had a nice moment and I’m so grateful 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 children, who make me proud every day, I love them and this place,” he continued, referring to his son Del, 10, and his daughter Sybil, who turns 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 people behind these cameras and downstairs we have the best team in television news and I’m honored to be a part of them.
“I’m beyond excited and grateful, and I had a lot of conversations yesterday with a lot of people who mean a lot to me, and I obviously want to thank NBC and the people here who did that. deemed me worthy.”
Craig also took the opportunity to mention his Christian faith as he thanked “the man upstairs.”
“I thank my Lord above and His son Jesus, and I have just enjoyed 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, where he worked as “Our Generation Reporter” from 1995 to 1997.
Craig, pictured here with his father and his son Del, described his father as ‘one of my favorite people’
Craig recalled how his mother took a second job to “sacrifice and provide” for the family while he was growing up
In his speech, Craig thanked his wife of 13 years Lindsay Czarniak and said: ‘She has been there for me from the beginning’
After graduating, he returned to WIS in July 2001 as a news photographer and producer before becoming a reporter for the station’s morning news team, where he produced his live segments, “Craig Cam.”
He was later promoted to news anchor for the weekend morning news and the weekend evening edition before starting weekdays.
In July 2008, he made the decision to leave WIS-TV and join NBC’s own Washington, D.C. station, WRC-TV, where he anchored the newscasts on weekend evenings.
Three years later, in July 2011, Craig left 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 Winter Olympics coverage and was also promoted to weekday news anchor on Today in September of that year and formed the cast of anchors for Today Third Hour.
Craig married then-ESPN sports presenter and former WRC-TV sportscaster Lindsay in October 2011. The couple first met in 2008 while working at the WRC in Washington, DC.
Lindsay was on assignment for NBC Sports during her first-ever Beijing Olympics and when she returned, Craig had been hired. The pair met during her first day back in the studio during a commercial break… and “have been together ever since.”
Craig and Lindsay welcomed their son Delano in March 2014, followed by their daughter Sybil in November 2016.