Life in the Morning: Craig Melvin Talks About His New Role on 'Today'
When Craig Melvin stepped into the spotlight as the new coanchor on Today, he brought with him not just his talent but also a whole lot of gratitude. But let's be honest, there’s one part of his new gig that's giving him a little trouble. The guy who’s always been a ray of sunshine on our screens admitted that waking up in the wee hours of the morning is not exactly his idea of fun. In a candid chat with TODAY.com, Craig opened up about his early mornings and how he's adjusting to his new role as Hoda Kotb's replacement.
For years, Craig's alarm clock would ring at 4:15 a.m. on those big news days, and if it was a slow morning, he’d get a little extra sleep, catching some Z’s until 4:30 a.m. But now, as the official coanchor alongside Savannah Guthrie, things have changed. “I have to get up at 3:45 a.m.,” Craig, 45, told TODAY.com in an interview published on January 15. “And let me tell you, when you say it out loud, it’s like, ‘Oof, that stinks. That really stinks.’”
Adapting to the New Schedule
Life as a morning show anchor isn’t all coffee and chitchat. Craig revealed that he’s had to make some serious adjustments to his daily routine. To keep up with his early wake-up calls, he's trying to hit the sack earlier during the weekdays. “My wife Lindsay Czarniak is going to get a medal one day for making sure our kids, Delano and Sybil, stick to their bedtime routine every night,” he said. “I try to pick up the slack on weekends, but this shift is no joke. You really have to commit to a regimen to make it work.”
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And let’s talk about Craig’s fail-safe alarm system. “I’ve got my trusty radio alarm clock on my nightstand,” he explained. “But just in case that doesn’t wake me up, I’ve also set two alarms on my phone. It’s hard to oversleep all three of those things. I mean, I’m not taking any chances here.”
A Simple Morning Routine
Craig shared his no-frills morning routine, which helps him get ready and out the door quickly. “I take my multivitamin, I’ve got this electrolyte mix that I use. I take my allergy meds and I shave every morning. That’s it. That’s the end of the routine,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s all about keeping it simple when you’re trying to function on so little sleep.”
Hoda Kotb's Farewell and Craig's Reaction
January 13 marked Craig's official takeover of Hoda Kotb's spot as the early morning coanchor next to Savannah Guthrie. He recalled the moment Hoda broke the news to him about her decision to leave the show. “She came in, and she said, ‘I just wanted to tell you something. I’m leaving.’ And my immediate reaction was, ‘Are you sick? Is everything OK?’ I was like, ‘Well, no one leaves these jobs on their own,’” Craig told Parade on January 17.
Hoda reassured Craig that everything was fine and that she simply felt it was time to move on. “I was so stunned that after she left, I went back to her dressing room and asked her again, ‘Are you sure you’re OK?’ It takes real courage to leave anything when you’re at the top of your game,” Craig added.
Hoda, 60, decided to step away from the show to focus more on her
