Craig Melvin Jokes Savannah Guthrie 'Decided to Bail' After 3 Days as He Anchors “Today” Without Her

Craig Melvin isn't even a week into his tenure as co-anchor of the Today show and already his other co-anchor has left him.

Melvin, 45, joked about Savannah Guthrie's absence at the top of the Thursday, Jan. 16, episode of the NBC morning show.

"Welcome to Today, so glad you're with us on this busy Thursday morning," Melvin said. "Laura Jarrett is in, Savannah's a little under the weather."

Melvin took the opportunity to crack a joke about Guthrie, 53, quipping, "I know what you're thinking, that after three days of Craig she decided to bail..."

"I wasn't going to say it," Jarrett, 41, jokingly replied. "But it's nice to be with you."

Related: Craig Melvin Emotionally Reflects on Landing Today's Top Anchor Seat: 'This Is a Gift and It's Not Lost on Me' (Exclusive)

Melvin kicked off his first day as the co-anchor of the Today show on Monday, Jan. 13, after taking over in the wake of Hoda Kotb's exit from the show after 17 years. Longtime journalist Melvin thanked Guthrie for her warm welcome on Monday and assured her, "Let’s go. And there’s no one I would rather ride with than you.”

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The reporting duo appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, Jan. 15, to discuss their new partnership.

"This is the Craig Era," Guthrie gushed of her co-anchor. "We're in our Craig Era."

But Guthrie also said she's been in close contact with Kotb, 60, since the former anchor's exit.

"I'm maybe talking to Hoda more than ever," Guthrie quipped. "We talked every single day. She actually got up earlier than me on Monday. Hoda wakes up at 3 a.m. on Saturday. We FaceTime with her."

Related: Carson Daly Jokes Today Show Has 'No Sign of Hoda Anywhere,' as Craig Melvin Takes Over as Anchor: 'Surprised by It Too'

Melvin recently got candid with PEOPLE about his nerves ahead of the big transition.

“I’m nervous,” he admitted in PEOPLE's cover story. “The show is a beloved national institution that has been around for about 73 years. No one wants to be the person who’s at the helm of the ship when the ship finds ice.”

He added, "I’m anxious but at the same time, it’s the first time I’ve been this excited about anything outside the day I got married and the birth of my two children. I am beyond stoked.”

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Kotb marked her final day on the Today show on Friday, Jan. 10, after making the decision to step down from the morning show back in September. Kotb shed light on her decision to spend more time with her daughters Haley, 8, and Hope, 5.

“I knew that I wanted this decade to be different. I looked at my time like a pie," Kotb told PEOPLE in October 2024. "I was like, this is how much time I get, and now what am I going to do with it and how am I going to carve it up? And I wanted it to be filled with more of them.”

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