Craig Melvin Fills in for Hoda Kotb as She Takes a Break From ‘Today’ for Deeply Personal Reason

Hoda Kotb took a break from Today to usher in a new milestone for her kids! Savannah Guthrie explained Hoda’s absence from the show at the top of the hour on Tuesday, September 3.

“Hi everybody, good morning. Welcome to Today,” Savannah, 52, said to viewers at home. “So nice to have you with us on a Tuesday morning, Hoda is off. This is the first day of school for her girls, so she’s holding it down with them.”

Craig Melvin filled in for Hoda, 60, at the news desk in the morning as she took daughters Haley and Hope to school.

“Happy Labor Day, summer is over. Don’t you just love a new school year?” Savannah asked Craig, 45.

Hoda recently revealed that she was moving into a new home with her daughters in the suburbs. With that comes the change of the girls going to a new school.

“It’s all new — new kids, new school, new things, new everything,” she said during an August 27 episode of Today. “And it’s funny because all I could think of was I want my house for the kids to feel warm and cozy and a place where they want to hang. And that’s it.”

“They’re so excited to have their own space, a reading chair — they’re excited about a reading chair,” she added. “They’re excited about having a bean bag and their bed.”

Hoda, who shares her daughters with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman, explained that she is in the “repotting phase” of her life.

“When I found this spot that I liked, a little town that had all the things that could teach my kids independence, I told my kids, ‘We’re repotting.’ They’re like, ‘What? We’re moving?’ I go, ‘Yeah, but we’re repotting,’” the Hope Is a Rainbow author noted.

“I go, ‘Well, it’s when you pull yourself up by the roots. And you’re a little scared, right?’ They’re like, ‘Yeah.’ I go, ‘But then we’ll go back into really great soil. We’re going to grow bigger and stronger. That’s going to be the place,’” Hoda shared.

Over the past few weeks, Hoda and Savannah have had quite a few absences from Today, as they soaked up the last bits of summer before their kids had to go back to school. Savannah shares kids Vale and Charley with husband Mike Feldman. “Holding on to the last of summer,” Savannah captioned a video of her kids on Instagram last week.

As for Craig, he documented his kids’ first day of school by sharing a sweet post on Instagram. On August 28, the dad of two, who shares kids Delano and Sybil with wife Lindsay Czarniak, revealed that his kiddos were headed off to their first day of school.

Craig wrote, “….and just like that. These two make me so happy and proud. Just wish it would all slow down,” alongside photos of his kids.

Lindsay also shared photos from the kids’ first day of school on her Instagram page.

“Let’s do this! Couldn’t be prouder of these two but also wishing time would slow down just a little bit 🙂 hoping everyone has a wonderful school year ahead and also some outtakes here trying to get the 5 of us (pup included) in one shot. #family #school #backtoschool #love #parents,” she penned.