Craig Melvin has increased his work schedule quite a bit in the past five months, having been promoted to the co-anchor on the main Today show alongside Savannah Guthrie back in January. 

And it’s not just his work on Today that’s keeping him busy either! At the start of the week, the popular NBC star was missing from the Third Hour of Today – which he has been an anchor on since 2018.

At the beginning of the program, Al Roker and Dylan Dreyer were joined by another familiar face instead – Peter Alexander – who they thanked for stepping in for Craig.

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Craig Melvin was missing on Monday’s Third Hour of Today

Al explained that Craig – who had been hosting the main show as usual – had to dash off for another job role – a photoshoot!

He said: “Good morning everybody and welcome to the Third Hour of Today. I’m Al and this is Dylan, and we’ve got Peter Alexander – co-anchor on Weekend Today – filling in.

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Craig is a popular member of Today

Craig had to run off on a shoot so we appreciate you coming in.” Al then joked that if he or Dylan were to be off work, he would be the next in line to help present the weather forecast.

Peter has been a popular fill-in choice on Today of late, and was there to sub Craig this time last week too on Memorial Day. He was joined by Laura Jarvis who was filling in for Savannah, as the anchors enjoyed a day off for the national holiday.

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Craig replaced Hoda Kotb on the main Today in January 2025

Craig was a popular choice for Hoda Kotb’s replacement, after the star announced she was leaving Today back in 2024.

He commutes to New York City every weekday from Connecticut, where he lives with his wife, sports anchor Lindsay Czarniak, and their two children, son, Delano, and daughter, Sybil.

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Craig Melvin with wife Lindsay and children on The Today Show

On his first day in his new role, on January 13, Craig’s wife and children surprised him on the show, along with his parents, Lawrence and Betty-Jo.

“When I left this morning, you were all in bed!” Craig said to his family in disbelief. Craig loves nothing more than being a father and opened up about being a dad-of-two in a blog post for People shortly after his daughter’s arrival.

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Craig Melvin and his son Delano

“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,” he shared.

“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.”

Craig also wrote a book about fatherhood in 2024 titled I’m Proud of You, which was in honor of his son, and childhood milestones.