Yahoo Lifestyle Savannah Guthrie Derailed Craig Melvin's 2010 Date With His Future Wife. It Was the Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship (Exclusive)
Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie and, of course, Hoda Kotb marked the end of an era during Today’s “Hoda-bration,” a special week filled with tributes, laughs and lots of tears as the longtime morning television show bid the beloved anchor goodbye. On Kotb’s final morning last Friday, one sprinkled with surprise guests ranging from decorated gymnast Simone Biles to the Muppets’ very own Kermit the Frog, the award-winning journalist sat on the show's plush white couch and embraced the hands of friend and colleague Guthrie and news anchor Melvin.
"Craig, I mean… I'm so happy for you," Kotb said, wiping away tears. "You've earned this. You own this. And come Monday at 7 a.m., I'm going to be dead asleep! But you're gonna be fantastic."
This may be an end for Kotb, 60, following her surprise announcement in September that she was leaving Today after 17 years to spend more time with her young daughters, Haley, 8, and Hope, 5. But it's a new beginning for Melvin, who succeeded Kotb with his promotion to the full-time co-anchor role with Guthrie during the show’s first and second hours starting Jan. 13.
The pair expect the transition to be a smooth one: They have worked and socialized with each other for years and genuinely like each other, with easy banter both on and off camera.
"We've become legit friends. We've got kids that have hung out together, and we've hung out together, so we don't have to fake it," Melvin, 45, exclusively tells Parade of their rapport as the pair sit in high directors' chairs side-by-side in an office at 30 Rock, where Today is filmed in the heart of New York City.
"The audience can tell when the chemistry is manufactured, and we haven't had to manufacture anything," he continues, "which makes it even easier. I'm really excited to be on this adventure with my sister."
Guthrie, 53, adds, "We're so sad to see [Hoda] go…But we're also overjoyed because Craig is stepping in to fill her shoes, and I can't think of anyone more perfect for that role."
"It's all the feelings," she says.
Those emotions include the heartbreak and pride they both felt when Kotb told them she was leaving.
"I was shocked and not shocked," recalls Guthrie, who has co-anchored with Kotb since 2018. "Hoda and I have talked for years about our dreams and part two of [our lives], and what it’s like to transition and be bold. I knew it was in her heart.
"She is as popular as ever. She's as good as it gets," Guthrie continues. "And she's saying, No, I think I'll go into the great unknown. And I find that so amazing.
Related: What It Was Like Inside Hoda Kotb’s Last Day on the ’Today’ Show (Exclusive)
"What I said to her right then and there, though, is that I'm going to set aside a moment for how I feel because to lose you is crushing."
Melvin—who already hosts the third hour of Today and is now taking on three hours in a row—reacted to the news with profound disbelief. "My dressing room is two over from hers, and she knocks on my door one morning, which was unusual,” he recalls. “And she's like, 'You have a moment?'
"She came in, and she said, 'I just wanted to tell you something. I'm leaving.' And my initial reaction was, 'Are you sick? Is everything okay?' I was like, 'Well, no one leaves these jobs on their own.’ She said, 'It's time. I want to leave on top.' I was like, 'Are they forcing you out?' She's like, 'No, Craig, I'm O.K. I'm leaving.' I was legit stunned, so much so that after she left, I went back to her dressing room, and I was like, 'Are you sure you're O.K.?' It takes a certain kind of courage to leave anything when you're at the height of your game."
LIFELONG LOVE
For most of Melvin's life, Today has been a part of it. Raised in Columbia, S.C., the convivial journalist "fell in love" with the show during middle school mornings when his mom was already off to work and his father was just coming home. "I was there by myself for a while watching every morning," he recalls. "It was Bryant [Gumbel] and Katie [Couric]."
While in high school, Melvin interned at his local TV station, WIS-TV, where he later worked following graduation from Wofford College. This led to on-air TV news roles—including an anchor role on MSNBC and as an NBC News correspondent—before joining Today in 2018.
"I never dreamed that any of this would happen," says Melvin, "which I think makes it even sweeter."
Related: Hoda Kotb Reveals How She’ll Still Appear on TV With ’Today’ After Her Exit (Exclusive)
"Outside of getting married and having my kids," he continues, "I don't know if I've ever been more excited about something."
Guthrie shares his enthusiasm and admires his wide range of abilities. "You have to be able to interview a president, interview a head of state," she says, "and you have to turn on a dime and then be ready to introduce to the world the latest pygmy hippo."
Melvin also conveys an invaluable, genuine warmth to viewers, she adds. "He's just one of those people who has this infectious, magnetic personality, and that's not something that's turned on for TV," says Guthrie, describing him as 'The Mayor of 30 Rock.' "That's who he is. He loves people, so people love him."
LONGTIME FRIENDS
Melvin and Guthrie first became acquainted around 2010 while both were living and working in Washington, D.C. Melvin was a weekend anchor for the local NBC TV news affiliate—"I immediately was like: That guy is good. He's different. He's an original," Guthrie recalls. Meanwhile, Guthrie, an NBC News White House correspondent, was also co-host of MSNBC's The Daily Rundown alongside Chuck Todd.
"You know, [Craig's] wife, Lindsay [Czarniak], and my husband, Mike [Feldman], have all known each other for a thousand years. I've known Lindsay for longer," says Guthrie, who had Czarniak, a sports journalist, as a guest on the Rundown. "I thought she was amazing. We love her. And then I'm like, 'Oh, my gosh, they're dating.'"
Related: Meet Lindsay Czarniak, Wife of New 'Today' Co-Anchor Craig Melvin
In fact, Melvin recalls how Guthrie once put the kibosh on date night. "It's funny because when [Lindsay and I] were dating, I remember vividly one time we went out to dinner,” he explains, adding that their nightcap had to be cut short due to Czarniak’s appearance on The Daily Rundown. "I was like, 'The show with Chuck and Savannah?' I [thought], 'Screw Chuck and Savannah [for] taking you away early.'”
Still, it didn’t stop him from watching his future wife on the morning program. "I remember the first time that I saw her on the show. She was wearing this yellow dress. Yellow is her favorite color," he continues. "I just wanted to make sure she wasn't trying to blow me off, so I woke up the next morning to actually watch, and there she was. So it's kind of full-circle."
It was a connection that grew stronger when Melvin, who has been with NBC News for nearly 14 years, joined Today in 2018. By then, Guthrie had been lead anchor for six years after replacing Ann Curry, a promotion that arrived unexpectedly following Curry's ouster.
"I came at a time of a lot of controversy for the show, and it wasn’t, I don't think, a happy occasion, really—for anyone, including me," she recalls. "I was as terrified as I could possibly be because the bosses at the time had made a decision, and I quite literally was the last to know, and I was so afraid, and I was pretty sure that I wouldn't last."
At the time, Guthrie had been the anchor of the 9 a.m. hour on Today, as well as the show's chief legal correspondent. "All my dreams had already come true,” she says. “It didn't need to get any better than that."
"When I was offered the job, I was in tears," she continues. "And it wasn't because I didn't dream of this job like everyone else does. It was because I was sure that it wouldn't last and that I'd be thrown by the wayside within a few weeks or months…I'm so happy that I survived and I'm still here."
Adds Melvin: "Thrived, not survived. Thrived!"
The friendship between the pair extends beyond the hallways of 30 Rock. Guthrie's two children, daughter Vale, 10, and son Charley, 8, are about the same ages as Melvin's children, son Delano, 10, and daughter Sybil, 8, and the families get together.
"Our kids are essentially the same age," says Melvin. "So when we bring our kids together, the boys tend to hang out, and the girls [do so], even though there's an age difference."
In October, the families met up in Miami for dinner and a Taylor Swift concert, along with Kotb and her daughters. Melvin, however, ended up skipping the singer’s iconic Eras Tour for dad duty.
"I didn't go to the concert. I was open to it. My 10-year-old son was like, 'Under no circumstances am I going to a Taylor Swift concert." (Father and son ended up playing laser tag.)
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Guthrie and Melvin each started families of their own around the same time, and discussion of juggling their jobs and parenting is, says Melvin, "80 percent of our conversation."
"We talk probably more about that stuff than we do about work," Guthrie adds. "We talk about our kids. We show each other pictures. He just got a puppy last year. We just got a puppy a month ago. We talk about the joys and pratfalls of puppy ownership.” ("Pratfalls, that's good," Melvin chimes in.)
It's this familiarity and chemistry that Kotb is certain will help fans grow accustomed to her absence. "Think about all the holes that have been filled over the years," she told Parade prior to her final day on Today, "when anchors left, and somehow it just kind of all merges together."
That new synergy kicked off Monday morning with what Guthrie describes to Parade as "the Craig era." Melvin's debut was ushered in with a moving video of his career highlights and fans from all over the country on the Today plaza celebrating his new role. Kotb wished Melvin a joyful first day via a pre-recorded message and shared that she had written him a heartfelt letter she hid at 30 Rock (which Guthrie handed him to read aloud).
"I'm nervous and excited,” Melvin told Parade after signing off the air Monday (his wife and kids were even on hand to cheer him on). “I'm more excited about tomorrow. Today was very emotional."
He'd spent all day Sunday with Guthrie in Tampa for the Sunday Night Football game, then stayed up until 11 p.m. to watch his favorite team, the Washington Commanders, win the game. His first-day, back-to-school jitters started with rising at 3:45 a.m. for his hour commute to 30 Rock.
"I'm sleeping right now with my eyes open; I'm exhausted," Melvin said, laughing (presumably running on adrenaline and, for what it’s worth, looking refreshed). "Tomorrow will be business as usual."
Related: Craig Melvin Reveals the Top Parenting Tip He’s Learned from 'Today' (Exclusive)
