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.
As his co-host 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.”
Yesterday I spoke with mom and dad. “I’m grateful that you are still young and healthy enough to be able to see this and enjoy the fruits of your labor, and you all know my backstory,” he said.
“My mother’s mother was a janitor at an elementary school, and my father’s mother had to take care of five children, so he crunched numbers and sold 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 has become one of my favorite human beings,” Craig continued as his voice cracked slightly.
“And my mother, at one point, gets a second job to sacrifice herself and support our family, so I’m grateful to them,” he added, fighting back tears.
Craig Melvin opened up about his devastating family history live on the Today show Thursday morning when he was announced as Hoda Kotb’s replacement.
Craig photographed on his graduation day with his mother, Betty, and father, Lawrence, as well as his brother.
The father of two went on to thank his partner, Lindsay Czarniak, saying: “My wife, Lindsay, who has put up with 13 years of me, and God bless her.” And even before that, she was there at the beginning of this professional journey.
‘I spoke to her this morning, she’s traveling, we had a nice time and I’m so grateful for her and for 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 to 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 will turn eight this month.
Speaking about his role on Today, he later said: “People see us on TV every morning, what they don’t see is the people behind these cameras and downstairs, we have the best team in TV news and it’s an honor for me be a part of that.
“I’m beyond excited and grateful, and just, you know, I had a lot of conversations yesterday with a lot of people that mean a lot to me, and obviously I just want to thank NBC and the people here that have deemed me worthy.
Craig also took the opportunity to mention his faith and thanked the “man upstairs.”
“Thanking my Lord above and his son Jesus, I have enjoyed a lifetime of blessings, and this is the latest in a long list of blessings,” the TV star added.
Craig first joined NBC affiliate WIS-TV in Columbia, South Carolina, as a high school student, and worked as ‘Our Generation Reporter’ from 1995 to 1997.
Craig, pictured here with his father and son Del, described his father as “one of my favorite human beings.”
Craig recalled how his mother got a second job to “sacrifice and support” the family when he was a child.
In his speech, Craig thanked his wife of 13 years, Lindsay Czarniak, and said that “she has been there for me from the beginning.”
After graduating from university, he returned to WIS in July 2001 as a photographer and news producer, before becoming a reporter on the station’s morning news team, producing its live ‘Craig Cam’ segments.
He was later promoted to news anchor for the weekend morning newscast and the weekend afternoon edition before directing weekdays.
In July 2008, he made the decision to leave WIS-TV to join NBC’s Washington, DC-owned and operated station, WRC-TV, where he anchored weekend evening newscasts.
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 coverage of the Winter Olympics and was also promoted to weekday news anchor at Today in September of that year and formed the cast of anchors that lead Today Third Hour.