Craig Melvin Says the Best Thing That’s Ever Happened to Him Is Marrying Wife Lindsay

Craig Melvin hit a career high when he took over the cohosting job on Today upon Hoda Kotb‘s departure. However, the broadcaster said nothing can top marrying his wife, Lindsay Czarniak.

“The best thing that’s ever happened to me personally and professionally is marrying Lindsay Czarniak,” Craig, 45, told People in an interview published on Thursday, January 15. “She doesn’t just get me as a person, as a husband — she understands the business.”

Craig met Linday, 47, after taking a weekend anchor job at Washington D.C. NBC affiliate WRC-TV in 2008. She was a sports reporter at the station. The couple fell in love and married on October 15, 2011.

Lindsay is highly successful in her own right as an Emmy-winning sports reporter and anchor who has worked for both ESPN and Fox Sports, covering everything from NASCAR to the NFL.

The couple welcomed their first child, son Delano, on March 10, 2014. Lindsay announced her second pregnancy during a live Sportscenter telecast in Cleveland, Ohio, ahead of the NBA finals game in June 2016. She gave birth to their daughter, Sybil, on November 5, 2016.

As for how Craig felt about stepping into Hoda’s shoes, he revealed, “I’m nervous. 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.”

“But I’ve never done this,” he told the publication. “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.”

Craig’s first day as the cohost of Today nearly left him in tears thanks to his beloved family.

In a video posted on Today’s official Instagram account on Monday, January 13, Craig sat next to his cohosts on the couch in the studio before Lindsay, Delano, 10, Sybil, 8, his parents, Lawrence and Betty Jo, and brother Ryan walked out on stage.

Lindsay gave her husband a kiss before hugging the other cohosts, whom she’s come to know and love ever since Craig joined the third hour of Today in 2018.

“When I left this morning, you were all in bed!” a stunned Craig told his family, while Lindsay replied, “We faked it.”

Delano dressed up like his dad, wearing a suit with a microphone clipped to the lapel.

“Oh, you got a microphone, buddy,” Craig marveled as his son replied, “I’m professional!”

Delano shared adorable praise for his dad, saying, “He’s a great dad, and he deserves to be here today.”

Sybil wrote a note to share what she loves about her dad. “My dad loves to play with me. He loves tickle fights and he watches TV shows with me,” she read out loud from a piece of paper.

Craig was announced as the new Today cohost alongside Savannah Guthrie in November 2024, after Hoda, 60, revealed in September 2024 that she was leaving Today after 17 years to spend more time with her family. Hoda’s last day with the show was on January 10.

“I am beyond excited and grateful,” he said at the time of the promotion. “I’ve had a lot of conversations yesterday with a lot of people who mean a lot to me, and I just wanted to obviously thank NBC and the folks here who have deemed me worthy. I’ve enjoyed just a lifetime of blessings and this is the latest in a long line of blessings.”