Nearly two months after Hoda Kotb announced she was departing Today, her replacement has been finally announced.
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Craig Melvin will be replacing Hoda Kotb on Today. He has been a news anchor for the morning show and a co-host of its 3rd hour. He made the official announcement this morning.
Melvin will be co-anchor alongside Savannah Guthrie for the 7 and 8 a.m. hours starting on Jan. 13.
“I am beyond excited and grateful,” Melvin emotionally declared while making the announcement. “I’ve enjoyed just a lifetime of blessings and this is the latest in a long line of blessings.”
Hoda Kotb praised Craig Melvin, stating that he was “literally made for the job.”
“You have all the things this job needs,” she gushed to Melvin. “You are the right person for it.”
Hoda Kotb will remain as co-anchor with Guthrie until Jan. 10. She referred to Jan. 10 as a “party day.”
Guthrie also stated that Kotb is “irreplaceable in our hearts.” She then declared that she was excited about Melvin’s new role and called him “talented, wonderful, hard-working, most-worthy.”
Hoda Kotb Made the Decision to Leave ‘Today’ After She Turned 60 in August
Shortly after announcing her plans to depart TODAY, Hoda Kotb stated she decided to leave the famous morning show after celebrating her 60th birthday in August.
“I’ve been weighing this decision for quite a while – Am I truly ready? But, my sixtieth birthday celebration on the Plaza felt like a shift,” Kotb stated. “Like a massive, joyful YES, you are!“
She continued by stating, “I saw it all so clearly: my broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie.”
Kotb also said her daughters are excited about the news. Speaking about her daughters’ lives outside the city, she said, “They’re so excited to have their own space. They’re excited about a reading chair, they’re excited about having a beanbag chair, and their bed — that kind of stuff.”
Hoda Kotb has been with NBC News for 26 years and has been on Today since 1999. Kotb started co-anchoring with Guthrie in 2018 shortly after Matt Lauer was fired amid sexual harassment allegations.
She has hosted Today’s Fourth Hour since 2007 as well. Her co-host for that hour is Jenna Bush Hager.
Although she won’t be on Today after Jan. 10, she will remain with the media outlet as a contributor.