‘Today’ Anchor Craig Melvin's 5 Interesting Facts About Him

NBC star Craig Melvin’s personality radiates through television screens and into the living rooms of millions each morning on Today. The broadcaster is always sharing how happy and thankful he is to have pursued the career he loves so much. Though Craig shares a lot of his life on television, there are a few fun facts that some of his fans might not know.

Craig worked his way up in the journalism field before landing his dream job on Today in 2018. The South Carolina native worked at WIS-TV as a reporter prior to becoming a prominent face on NBC4. There, he met his wife, reporter Lindsay Czarniak, who had just returned home from covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“She is a very good friend. She’s a very good daughter,” the television personality told The Washington Post about his wife in October 2011. “And it’s easy to be in love when you’re 28, 29, 30, but when you’re 60, 65, that’s when it’s tested. And she’s the kind of person that I could see changing a diaper — mine!”

In 2011, Craig landed a job at MSNBC, and Lindsay scored a job at ESPN. It was a big year for the couple who got married in a gorgeous ceremony after making their major career moves. They soon decided to start a family and welcomed their son, Delano Joseph, in 2014. Their daughter, Sybil Ann, was born in 2016. The proud dad of two shared with People what it was like to go on paternity leave after his daughter’s birth.

“Paternity leave has also given me the chance to reflect on priorities. Like many of you, one of life’s greatest challenges for me has become unplugging from the noise that consumes so much of our lives,” Craig wrote. “Resisting the urge to check a timeline, news feed, clever tweet or email even while on paternity leave has been difficult, but I’ve actually been proud of my ability to stay present. Not every day or all day, but certainly better than when I’m on the clock.”

In addition to his work as an anchor, Craig became a published author in 2021 with his memoir, Pops: Learning to be a Son and a Father. The book explored his relationship with his father, and how it shaped the way he parents his own children.

“It took me getting older to fully appreciate this idea that you can’t be something if you’ve never seen it,” Craig shared with Fatherly in June 2021 about the inspiration behind his book. “My father had never seen a good father. So how, in what universe, would it have been reasonable to expect he is going to be this perfect father, even a really good father, early on. He found his way. I’m finding my way.”

Keep scrolling to learn five interesting facts about Craig!

Craig Got His Ears Pierced for a Sweet Reason

There is nothing Craig won’t do for his children. In November 2021, the Emmy winner took his daughter to get her ears pierced. To ease her nerves, Craig decided that he was going to get one of his ears pierced too. The entire experience was documented through a series of Instagram photos. He later debuted the new look on Today, sporting a black onyx stud.

His Workday Begins Super Early

Like many television hosts, Craig is always up bright and early to start his workday. He shared in a November 2019 interview with Parade that he wakes up at 3:45 a.m. He has gotten his morning routine down to a science, taking a four-minute shower and heading out the door, all within a 22-minute span every day.

“The last thing I do before I hop in the car is, I walk around to the other side of the bed, and then my wife leans up, and I give her a quick kiss and a little hug, and then, she’ll say what she says. And I say what I say. And that’s the last thing I do,” he said.

He Considers His Coworkers to Be Like His Siblings

The Wofford College alum has gotten pretty close to all of his Today costars. They are always laughing and smiling on camera. It’s the same dynamic behind the scenes too.

“I didn’t have sisters growing up but since I got the Today job, I’ve inherited two of them in Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb,” he told Serendipity in May 2020. “I also inherited an older brother that I didn’t know I needed in Al Roker. The chemistry and love on the show is real and we have a great time. It’s really special when you discover these people are the same off camera as they are on camera.”

He Has a Special Connection to Stephen Colbert

In 2008, before Craig was a big name on NBC, he ran into late-night host Stephen Colbert. He recalled the encounter during a June 2021 appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. The journalist was on his way to a job interview in New York and was seated on the plane next to Stephen. The pair talked about everything from The Colbert Report to how Stephen managed his grief from losing his father and two brothers in a plane crash when he was 10.

“I proceed to talk about the job and how nervous I am and this guy, total stranger, proceeds to talk about his best-selling book that’s on The New York Times list, but after that, you proceeded to tell me your story and you talked about, I’ll never forget as long as I live, you talked about how tragedy early in your life shaped who you would become and how you found comedy,” Craig recalled. “And I remember in that moment thinking, ‘If this guy can do it, if this guy can make it’ … It was the pep talk that the kid from Columbia, South Carolina, desperately needed.”