Craig Melvin and Savannah Guthrie Reveal How Their Friendship Began in Parade's Exclusive Cover Story: 'We Don't Have to Fake It'
TODAY's lead co-anchors detail their long-term friendship, Melvin's reaction to Hoda Kotb's resignation and why he missed the Taylor Swift concert.
Parade, the premium legacy entertainment and lifestyle brand, released its latest cover story, featuring an exclusive interview with Craig Melvin, the TODAY show's new lead co-anchor, and Savannah Guthrie.
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Parade's latest cover story features an exclusive interview with Craig Melvin, the TODAY show's new lead co-anchor, and Savannah Guthrie. (Photo: Business Wire)
In this heartfelt interview, Melvin and Guthrie sat down together to discuss their decades-long friendship, how Guthrie derailed Melvin's 2010 date with his future wife, their reactions to Hoda Kotb's resignation, Taylor Swift and more.
Read the full interview here. Video link here. Notable quotes are below.
How Savannah cut short Craig's date with future wife Lindsay Czarniak: "When [Lindsay and I] were dating, I remember vividly one time we went out to dinner," Melvin explains, adding that their nightcap had to be cut short due to Czarniak's appearance on The Daily Rundown. "I was like, 'The show with Chuck [Todd] and Savannah?' I [thought], 'Screw Chuck and Savannah [for] taking you away early.' I remember the first time that I saw her on the show. She was wearing this yellow dress. Yellow is her favorite color. I just wanted to make sure she wasn't trying to blow me off, so I woke up the next morning to actually watch, and there she was. So, it's kind of full-circle."
"Lindsay and my husband, Mike [Feldman], have all known each other for a thousand years. I've known Lindsay for longer [than Craig]," says Guthrie. "I thought she was amazing. We love her. And then I'm like, 'Oh, my gosh, they're dating.'"
Craig and Savannah on their longtime friendship: Melvin and Guthrie first became acquainted around 2010 while both were living and working in Washington, D.C. Melvin was a weekend anchor for the local NBC TV news affiliate—"I immediately was like: That guy is good. He's different. He's an original," Guthrie recalls.
"We've become legit friends. We've got kids that have hung out together, and we've hung out together, so we don't have to fake it," Melvin says. "The audience can tell when the chemistry is manufactured, and we haven't had to manufacture anything, which makes it even easier. I'm really excited to be on this adventure with my sister."
Savannah on replacing Ann Curry as lead co-anchor in 2012: "I came at a time of a lot of controversy for the show, and it wasn't, I don't think, a happy occasion, really—for anyone, including me," Guthrie recalls. "I was as terrified as I could possibly be because the bosses at the time had made a decision, and I quite literally was the last to know, and I was so afraid, and I was pretty sure that I wouldn't last."
At the time, Guthrie had been the anchor of the 9 a.m. hour on TODAY, as well as the show's chief legal correspondent. "All my dreams had already come true," she says. "It didn't need to get any better than that. When I was offered the job, I was in tears. And it wasn't because I didn't dream of this job like everyone else does. It was because I was sure that it wouldn't last and that I'd be thrown by the wayside within a few weeks or months…I'm so happy that I survived and I'm still here."
Craig and Savannah on parenting: "Our kids are essentially the same age," says Melvin. "So when we bring our kids together, the boys tend to hang out, and the girls [do so], even though there's an age difference." Guthrie and Melvin each started families of their own around the same time, and discussion of juggling their jobs and parenting is, says Melvin, "80 percent of our conversation."
"We talk probably more about that stuff than we do about work," Guthrie adds. "We talk about our kids. We show each other pictures. He just got a puppy last year. We just got a puppy a month ago. We talk about the joys and pratfalls of puppy ownership." ("Pratfalls, that's good," Melvin chimes in.)
Why Craig missed Taylor Swift's concert: In October, the families met up in Miami for dinner and a Taylor Swift concert, along with Kotb and her daughters. Melvin, however, ended up skipping the singer's iconic Eras Tour for dad duty. "I didn't go to the concert. I was open to it. My 10-year-old son was like, 'Under no circumstances am I going to a Taylor Swift concert.'" (Father and son ended up playing laser tag.)
To read this story, or any of previous Parade cover stories, click here.
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