Craig Melvin is getting candid on Hoda Kotb’s “Today” exit. The anchor was so surprised his fellow journalist was leaving NBC after nearly 30 years that he asked Kotb if the decision to leave wasn’t hers.

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 was so shocked by the news of Hoda Kotb's Today show exit that he thought she was being 'forced out.'

Today confirmed Kotb’s exit in September 2024 and Melvin was announced as her successor less than two months later. He made his debut as co-anchor on January 13 alongside Savannah Guthrie, who has been co-hosting the morning show since 2012.

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.

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,

Hoda Kotb put her writing skills to good use before leaving TODAY by penning a letter to her successor. Ahead of Hoda’s last day on Jan. 10, she wrote a heartfelt poem to Craig Melvin for him to read as he takes over as co-anchor of TODAY alongside Savannah Guthrie on Jan. 13.

With Hoda Kotb officially out of the Today show, longtime viewers have turned their attention to Craig Melvin, the morning news show’s longtime personality who has taken over as Savannah Guthrie‘s new co-anchor.

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.