Were you surprised when NBC announced that Craig Melvin would succeed Hoda Kotb as a co-anchor on the Today show? It turns out we weren't the only ones shocked by the news — Craig was, too. In November 2024,

“I was like, ‘Are they forcing you out?’ She’s like, ‘No Craig, I’m OK. I’m leaving,’” he recalled. “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 OK?’ It takes a certain kind of courage to leave anything when you’re at the height of your game.”

New Today cohost Craig Melvin initially thought Hoda Kotb might be sick when she pulled him aside to tell him she was stepping down from the NBC morning show. "My dressing room is two over from hers,

Craig Melvin revealed he questioned Hoda Kotb about whether she chose to leave 'Today' when he learned of her exit from the NBC morning show

Craig Melvin made his debut co-anchoring the 'Today' show with Savannah Guthrie on Monday, Jan. 13, after taking over the role from Hoda Kotb.

Craig Melvin's debut as co-anchor of Today proved to be an emotional one. On Monday, January 13, the 45-year-old broadcast journalist — who began his first day in his new gig — received a video message and a handwritten letter from his predecessor, Hoda Kotb, whose last day was Friday, January 10.

It’s the end of an era at Today after beloved host Hoda Kotb bid adieu to the morning show last week. But, as her former co-host Savannah Guthrie revealed in a recent interview, that doesn’t mean she left everything behind.