When Craig Melvin was announced as Hoda Kotb’s replacement on the Today show for 2025, coanchor Savannah Guthrie and the entire NBC family were quick to celebrate the news.
At the time, Kotb herself told Melvin — who has worked for NBC since 2011 and became a weekday news anchor on Today in 2018 — he was “made for this job,” adding, “You are that kind of good. You have all the things that this job needs. You’re the right person for it.”
Melvin’s family outside of work has been just as supportive.
“My heart is honestly bursting. Craig Melvin – I am so proud of you and so beyond grateful for the man you are,” his wife, Lindsay Czarniak, wrote via Instagram in November 2024, shortly after news of his new gig broke. “The opportunity to watch the person you love see their dream come true is such a gift. I will never forget this day and the crowds’ excitement to share your good news.”
Melvin and Czarniak met in 2008 and tied the knot three years later. The pair share son Delano and daughter Sybil, who were born in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Melvin’s relationship with his kids has been shaped by his own upbringing, from his hardworking and supportive mother to his father, who struggled with addiction but is now one of the most important figures in his life.
Keep scrolling to meet Melvin’s entire family, including his wife, kids, parents and more.
Lindsay Czarniak
Melvin and Czarniak met while both were working in the news industry in Washington, D.C. After more than a year of friendship, Melvin finally asked her on a date in July 2009.
“That night when we met, there was something that clicked. And it wasn’t necessarily that I knew, ‘I have to be with this guy.’ But it was like, ‘I don’t want to be with anyone else that I’d hung out with,’” Czarniak recalled to the Washington Post in 2011.
Three years after they tied the knot, Melvin and Czarniak welcomed son Delano in March 2014, then daughter Sybil in November 2016. On Father’s Day 2024, Czarniak said her husband “crushes the role of fatherhood despite the wildest schedule on a daily basis” in an Instagram post.
Czarniak currently works for Fox as an NFL and NASCAR reporter. She was previously a Sports Center anchor on ESPN and has covered everything from the Olympics to the Daytona 500.
Delano
Melvin credits his son with inspiring his latest children’s book, “I’m Proud of You,” released in May 2024.
“A few years ago, I found myself marveling at Delano on the high dive,” he told Good Housekeeping at the time. “He was trying to conquer his fear and jump off for the first time. When he did it, I saw how proud he was and how proud my wife and I were, and I thought, ‘we should document this.’”
The day Delano turned 10, Melvin and Czarniak honored him in a joint Instagram post.
“In the blink of an eye our little boy went from the baby who made us parents to the fun loving, caring 10 year old kid we adore,” they wrote. “I think one of the coolest things is when you find yourself just really enjoying the time you get to spend together as they grow, experiencing the things they love and seeing it all through their eyes.”
Sybil
Melvin told People that Delano played a role in naming his younger sister. While Cznarniak was pregnant with her, the family referred to the baby as “Sibby,” for Delano’s younger sibling. The family soon grew to love the name and it turned into Sibyl.
Melvin and Czarniak have described their youngest as athletic and “the life of the party,” according to Hello Magazine. Melvin added that Sybil’s confidence, even at eight years old, makes him “teary.”
Lawrence Melvin
Craig and his father, Lawrence, have had a complicated history. The anchor was open about his dad’s struggles with addiction in his book, “POPS: Learning to be a Son and a Father,” published in 2021. The book recalls the times Lawrence did not show up for Craig and his siblings, earning him the nickname “Ghost” among Craig’s friends.
“The nickname really bugged me,” Craig wrote. “Most of my other friends, their dads were present. I had written mine off. It got to a point where I thought, ‘Oh damn it to hell. I got a dad, but I don’t really have a dad.’ He was like a ghost: there, but not there.”
Today, their relationship is different as Lawrence is “PopPop” to Delano and Sibyl.
“He overcame addictions in his life,” Craig said on the November 2024 episode of Today. “He’s become one of my favorite human beings.”
Betty Jo Melvin
After Craig wrote POP, he said he felt guilty for not including his mother in the title when she has been the most consistent figure in his life.
“The reality is, for most of my life, she played the role of Mom AND Pops,” he said. “And here, I wrote 200-plus pages celebrating fatherhood and celebrating my dad climbing this mountain. And the reality is, I would not be where I am professionally and personally had it not been for my mother.”
Betty was the first in Craig’s family to graduate from college and later worked as a teacher, then bank teller. At a time when Lawrence was struggling the most, squandering money on drugs, alcohol and gambling, Betty Jo got a Master’s degree and took a second job to help make ends meet.
Lawrence Meadows
Craig’s older brother Lawerence died in 2020 at age 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer. Lawrence was a minister who co-owned a funeral home in South Carolina and held a Master’s in divinity and Doctorate in ministry from Gardner-Webb University.
After his brother’s death, Craig partnered with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance to raise money for colon cancer research and family support.
“The reality is, had Lawrence gotten checked earlier, he might still be with us,” Craig told People. “But we didn’t know about our family history and there were signs that he ignored.”
Ryan Melvin
Craig’s younger brother has joined the Today anchor on TV several times, including in 2022 when Ryan learned to swim at age 36 as a way to promote how important it is to be comfortable in the water. Ryan also let Today tag along when he got a colonoscopy in 2021 to raise awareness for the procedure after losing his older brother to colon cancer.
