LeCroy, 34, took to social media in the new year to shine a light on her meal plan while on the widely publicized wellness plan, which was created by author and entrepreneur Andy Frisella and involves sticking to six strict lifestyle rules for 75 days straight.
The reality TV star kicked off her 75 Hard journey early January and told her social media followers that she’s “been flooded with messages about meal plans” ever since.
“I want to clear a few things up,” LeCroy wrote via her Instagram Story. “Nothing fancy! The meals I’m sharing are exactly what they look like. If you see a turkey patty, it’s straight from the store — no secret recipes, no homemade sauces and definitely no lettuce fresh from my garden (because I don’t have one!). I simply make foods and meals I enjoy, especially when I’m working on a program like 75 Hard. I’m happy y’all are excited about it!”
LeCroy then included multiple screenshots of her meals, beginning with “Breakfast Day 1/75,” which featured a glass filled with green juice and a plate dotted with three slices of tomato, a heaped spoonful of cottage cheese and two boiled eggs sprinkled with seeds.
The post was then followed by “Lunch 1/75,” which included a turkey burger patty, “w/ this Carolina BBQ sauce … Salad w/ Annie’s goddess dressing … Rice … Lemon water,” in addition to a side salad of spinach leaves, sliced cucumber and sliced cherry tomatoes.
Madison LeCroy’s breakfastCourtesy of Madison LeCroy/Instagram
LeCroy, a trained hair and makeup stylist who joined Southern Charm during season 6 in 2019, then shone a light on the day’s dinner, capturing a plate filled with diced sweet potatoes, a small portion of fillet mignon steak and a side of caesar salad. She admitted in the dinner post that the meal was, “not my best, got home late!”
The 75 Hard challenge, which was formulated by Frisella in 2019 and promises to enhance your mental toughness, mental fortitude, confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, self-belief and grit by “100 times,” according to his website, also involves drinking a gallon of a water a day, not indulging in any cheat meals or alcohol, exercising twice a day, reading 10 pages of a book each day and taking a progress picture every day.
Madison LeCroy’s lunchCourtesy of Madison LeCroy/Instagram
Regarding the meal portion of the challenge, subscribers are advised to stick to the same diet as it must be structured and followed consistently for all 75 days. It is unclear what LeCroy’s updated dinner ingredients entail.
One of the toughest elements of the challenge involves restarting from Day 1 if any of the six goals are missed.
Although the rules are rigid, LeCroy hasn’t let it stop her from enjoying the start of 2025. She posted photos of herself enjoying a hotel stay with son Hudson, who was born in November 2012 and with whom LeCroy shares with ex husband Josh Hughes, via her Instagram Story on Sunday, January 12.
LeCroy shared photos of the pair dining at The Charleston Place in South Carolina, as well as a look at two breakfast plates delivered to their suite via room service.
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charleson,” he wrote. “Her enduring legacy has spanned nearly 50 years on General Hospital alone and, just as Monica was the heart of the Quartermaines, Leslie was a beloved matriarch of the entire cast and crew.”
Alongside the message, Valentini shared a photo of the four-time Daytime Emmy nominee smiling. “I will miss our daily chats, her quick wit and incredible presence on set,” he continued. “On behalf of everyone at General Hospital, my heartfelt sympathy goes out to her loved ones during this difficult time.”
Charleson began playing the role of Monica Quartermaine on the soap opera in 1977, making her the longest-running cast member on General Hospital.
“I started the show the day Elvis Presley died, and being such a huge fan, I of course was very upset driving to the studios, and then getting there I was told that they hoped I had brought my own wardrobe and makeup because there was a strike going on — and that was before I even got in the building,” Charleson recalled to Soap Opera Digest in 2022.
“Then I got in the building and I realized that no one really liked me, because the girl playing Monica before me was very rudely fired,” Charleson continued, referring to Patsy Rahn, whom she replaced.
After 30 years on the show, Charleson appeared on General Hospital in a recurring status in 2010. Charleson, who has had health ups and downs, had returned to the show a few times — most recently appearing in a wheelchair in December 2023.
While speaking with Soap Opera Digestin 2016, Charleson — who was married to Bill Demms from 1988 to 1991 — reflected on her General Hospital legacy.
“It has been quite a long run,” she said at the time. “I am just so pleased because, unlike some of the actors that have come and gone, and gone on to other soaps or other things, this has really been my home since I started here, way back then, hundreds of years ago. I am very grateful to keep working at something that I love to do, and I am certainly grateful that it has endured.”
“That first night I wrote a will, I thought I was going to die,” George, 36, said in a Saturday, January 11, interview with The Sun.
The Wanted frontman recalled waking up with freezing blue hands on December 11, 2024, while he was staying with his mom.
“I hadn’t been feeling myself for a few days, I started feeling a bit rough,” George said. “I couldn’t put my finger on it. I was quite lethargic and stuff, struggling to get out of bed. But I didn’t think it was anything serious.”
He continued, “Luckily I’d gone around to my mum’s to stay and I woke up and I remember looking at my hands and they were blue, and my arms were a grey colour and I was freezing cold. I struggled to even sit up in bed.”
When George’s mom saw him, she gasped and called a doctor. While George had a check-up and was sent home, his mom continued asking around for help.
“At this point I had a panicky feeling, but was also just absolutely knackered,” he said. “I couldn’t move my arms and the worst feeling was I felt like my throat was closing up. It felt like someone had their hands around my neck. Thank God I stayed at Mum’s house — she saved my life.”
Doctors informed George that something was “not right with the bottom part” of his heart and he would need a pacemaker.
“For some reason the rhythm is way off and the signal doesn’t seem to be getting from the top chamber of your heart to the bottom part, the bit that pumps the blood around your body,” he recalled the doctors telling him. “I was in complete shock.”
George called the experience “really scary” noting that it was “certainly not a place I thought I’d be in at 36.”
“I was awake all night, feeling a closing in my throat, I was really struggling to move and had really deep, slow breaths,” he said. “There was nothing that they could do to stop that. I could have lived maybe a few weeks, maybe a few months, but it could have been a few hours. We didn’t know.”
Two days after being admitted to the hospital, George’s heart rate dropped to 26 beats per minute.
“Friday, December 13, was the worst day that I had there,” he said. “My heart rate and my blood pressure dropped at the same time, and that was the biggest worry.”
He continued, “The consultants weren’t there on hand to do the operation in an emergency. It was quite close that night, it really felt like my neck was closing up and that’s when the sort of panic really kicked in. I felt like I was dying. It was the worst, I felt emotional.”
George was taken by an ambulance to a hospital on December 15, where he had a CT scan. He received a pacemaker three days later, with his partner Maisie Smith by his side as he became aware of his surroundings.
“I had a proper heartbeat by then as well. My heart rate started just shooting up. So I remember feeling my feet going tingly, because I think obviously the blood started to properly pump around,” he said.
He continued, “I was like, ‘Holy s—, I feel alive again,’ like it was a really nice feeling. It’d been so hard being away from Maisie, but she climbed on the bed, obviously she lay on the other side of my chest to my op, and put her head on me. We just had a cuddle for a couple of hours while I talked about football and we treated it like normal. I could feel butterflies again next to her.”
Tyler Perry(Photo by Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association)
Tyler Perry slammed insurance companies who implemented policy changes ahead of the wildfires that have devastated the greater Los Angeles area.
“Watching a daughter use a garden hose to try and protect her 90-year-old parents’ home because their insurance was canceled was just gut-wrenching to me,” Perry wrote via Instagram on Sunday, January 12.
“Does anyone else find it appalling that insurance companies can take billions of dollars out of communities for years and then, all of a sudden, be allowed to cancel millions of policies for the very people they became rich on?” the filmmaker continued. “People who have paid premiums all of their lives are left with nothing because of pure greed.”
He concluded, “As I am in the process of trying to figure out what steps to take to do all I can to help as many as I can, I am keeping everyone in my prayers.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, State Farm General, the largest home insurer in California, announced in March 2024 it would not be renewing 30,000 home and condominium policies when they expired — 1,600 of which were located in the Pacific Palisades.
Per the Times, insurance company Chubb stopped writing new policies for high-value homes designated to be at high risk for wildfires, while Allstate also stopped writing new policies.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the wildfires that began a path of destruction through Los Angeles the morning of Tuesday, January 7, when high winds sparked fast-moving brush fires through the Pacific Palisades. The fires have since spread to surrounding neighborhoods, including Malibu and the Hollywood Hills.
According to local authorities, the death toll has reached at least 16 people and is expected to rise as search and rescue efforts continue. NBC News reports that the blaze has burned through 37,000 acres and destroyed over 12,000 structures.
Over 150,000 people have been placed under mandatory evacuation orders, including stars like Mark Hamill, Jennie Garth and Mandy Moore. A number of celebrities, however, were not so lucky, as their homes were completely destroyed by the fires, including Paris Hilton, Anna Faris, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, Billy Crystal, Mel Gibson and Milo Ventimiglia.
According to AccuWeather, the wildfires could be the costliest in U.S. history, with the total economic loss currently estimated to be between $135 billion and $150 billion as of Thursday, January 9.
Erin Andrewsand her husband, Jarret Stoll, don’t always see eye-to-eye when it comes to sharing their personal lives with the public.
“My husband would rather we not be so public — me not be so public,” Andrews, 46, told Success magazine in an interview published on Friday, January 10.
While the couple, who tied the knot in 2017, navigated their fertility journey, the idea of being private came up. “He was just like, ‘Why do we have to say this?’ And I said, ‘Because these waiting rooms are packed,’” she explained.
Andrews has been candid through the years about her fertility journey, sharing in a 2021 essay for Bulletin that she had been undergoing “time-consuming and emotionally draining” treatments since she was 35. In July 2023, the couple welcomed their first child, son Mack, via surrogate.
Now, the couple is thinking about adding another little one to their family. “We’re talking about trying it again,” Andrews told E! News in October 2024. “I was really, really honest with my doctor a couple weeks ago. I just said, ‘We’ve had so much high with the birth of Mack and how great he’s doing that I don’t want to go back to that place of failure again, and I’m really, really afraid of it.’”
Before Mack’s birth, Andrews lost two of her embryos. “It’s crazy, because once you get back on the phone with your fertility doctor and you start talking about the journey again, PTSD all comes back, of how crappy you felt, how numb your body gets, just the fear of loss,” she said.
Andrews noted that she and Stoll, 42, leaned on each other through the emotional process, helping each other by sharing their feelings.
“Sometimes men don’t want to talk about this stuff, but they’re also feeling the feels, too,” Andrews said. “My husband was really, really great after we were going through more lows than highs, just being like, ‘This sucks. This just isn’t great. I feel really crappy, and I feel like a failure,’ and that really helped a lot too.”
While navigating her job responsibilities and parenting duties, Andrews shared that she’s still figuring out a proper work-life balance. “I talked about it on a walk with my husband last night as we were walking our dog — we’ve got a lot going on,” she told Success magazine.
Andrews said the start of the NFL season is when her life gets “absolutely crazy” with her work. “Plus it’s a Super Bowl year,” she said. “We have Tom Brady on our broadcasting crew this year. So it’s going to be a lot.”
“Thank you so much to everyone. No. 1 on iTunes chart, oh my gosh,” Montag shared via a Saturday, January 11, Instagram Story. “Thank you for the overwhelming love and support of my music and really rallying behind us in this devastating time and making it such a blessing.”
Montag’s album Superficial, which was released in January 2010, topped the iTunes albums chart ahead of Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS and the Wicked movie soundtrack. The titular song off the album also charted No. 1 before ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ “APT” and other tracks. Montag’s tune “I’ll Do It” also came in at No. 7.
“Thank you for helping support us, helping build us back up, helping to encourage us, give us that hope and faith and excitement in such a dark, dark time,” Montag continued. “No. 1, ahhh! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it. And it’s the 15th anniversary of Superficial. So, the timing is just crazy. It’s so crazy, thank you…”
Scroll down to see which celebrities are showing their support:
The model shared a video via TikTok of her listening to Montag’s “I’ll Do It.” Ratajkowski wrote over the clip, “Didn’t expect this Heidi Montag song to be the soundtrack to the 2025 apocalypse but you know what f—- yeah.”
Flavor Flav
Flav shared a video via TikTok with the text reading, “Doing my part to get Heidi Montag to #1.”
Hilton encouraged fans to stream Montag’s music while sharing a video dancing to “I’ll Do It.” He wrote over the TikTok clip, “Streaming Heidi Montag’s music to help her and Spencer Pratt rebuild after their home burned down in Los Angeles.”
Paris Hilton
Paris sent a message to Montag, which Pratt shared via Instagram. “Congrats @heidimontag ,” she wrote.
Jenny McCarthy
McCarthy shared a video via TikTok of her husband, Donnie Wahlberg, purchasing Montag’s Superficial album on Saturday, January 11. “So close. One more to get to number one! Let’s go! Donnie in da club,” McCarthy captioned the clip.
Check the LAFD website for local wildfire alerts and click here for resources on how to help those affected.
The exclusive Chateau Marmont, a beloved hotel to many of Hollywood’s most famous stars, is opening its doors for firefighters and evacuees of the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.
“To the heroes and victims in the Hollywood community who’ve lost their homes… we’d like to invite you to our safe haven,” the hotel announced via an Instagram post on Sunday, January 12. “For the next week, we’re making our cottages available for complimentary two-night stays for Los Angeles firefighters and members of the unions representing our city’s creative industries.”
In order for firefighters and those displaced by the ongoing fires to take advantage of the offer, the post directs those in need to “call the hotel directly.” The correct number for the Chateau Marmont can be located in the hotel’s Instagram bio.
“Requests for cottages will be located in the order they’re received,” the post concluded.
According to local authorities, at least 16 people have lost their lives as a result of the five wildfires burning around L.A., though officials believe that number is likely to increase as more search and rescue efforts are underway. According to NBC News, the fires have burned through at least 37,000 acres and destroyed more than 12,000 structures, while tens of thousands have been forced to flee their homes under mandatory evacuation orders.
DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images
Many celebrities and Hollywood A-listers have lost their homes as a result of the fires, including Paris Hilton and Anthony Hopkins. Other stars have gone out of their way to help their fellow Angelinos as communities continue to be ravaged by the flames.
Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle and her husband, Prince Harry, spent time volunteering alongside World Central Kitchen workers, while Selling Sunset’s Jason Oppenheim announced his realtors will be donating their services to those in need of a new home.
“If you’ve lost your home in the Los Angeles fires and you need to find a place to rent until your home is rebuilt, all Oppenheim Group agents will represent you for free or credit you back any commission we receive in the transaction,” the Selling Sunset star, 47, wrote in a Thursday, January 9 Instagram post. “Please reach out to us at [email protected].”
Actress Jennifer Garner was spotted in L.A. also volunteering alongside World Central Kitchen workers and celebrity chef José Andrés, People reported at the time. Meanwhile, Sharon Stone and Halle Berry have donated their “entire closet” to those who lost everything in the fires.
“I’m packing up my entire closet and heading over to the COOP!” Berry, 58, said via Instagram on Thursday, January 9. “If you live in the Southern California area, I urge you to do the same. This is something we can do right now today to help all of the displaced families that are in need of the basics today! Thank you @sharonstone for your leadership. Love you Lady.”
Check the LAFD website for local wildfire alerts and click here for resources on how to help those affected.
Collegiate tight end Caden Prieskorn and his wife, TikTok personality Cali Prieskorn, are navigating a long-distance marriage while he trains for the 2025 NFL draft.
Caden, 25, recently finished his final year playing football for the University of Mississippi. At many of his games, he was supported by wife Cali, also 25, and their two kids. They share son Mac, 3, and daughter Romy, 8 months. (Mac previously went viral on TikTok for doing “lucky [fist] bumps” with the Ole Miss players before each game.)
Cali, however, opted not to leave Mississippi with the kids full-time, instead deciding to travel to see Caden on the weekends.
“My husband just finished his last year of college and football and just moved to Nashville to train for the NFL draft,” Cali said in a Friday, January 10, TikTok video. “I decided to stay back with the kids because Mac still has school, but we’re trying to get to Nashville every weekend.”
She added, “I’m honestly so excited he’s training in Nashville. There’s so much to do and so many good places to eat. This weekend’s gonna be super chill, but it’s going to be nice spending time as a family.”
In another video posted earlier this month, Cali revealed that Caden’s training will last approximately three months.
“I’m so glad he gets to keep pursuing his dreams,” she said in the TikTok clip. “He will leave for a little bit because he got invited to the Shrine Bowl [in Dallas]. He worked so hard, so I’m glad he’s getting that opportunity. I’m going to take the kids down to Dallas, as well, and then he’ll go back to Nashville for training.”
Courtesy of Cali Prieskorn/Instagram
The NFL draft is held annually in April, which is when Caden will learn whether or not a football franchise decided to sign him to their 53-man roster. In her second video, Cali also reiterated why she didn’t plan to uproot her family in order to follow and remain close to her husband.
“Mac is in school and I love his school so much,” she stated. “I think it’s important that they have that structure. I’m just going to split my time between the two [places.] I’ll be in Oxford, [Mississippi] during the week while Mac has school.”
Cali added that she was still “trying to figure out how to balance” solo parenting while Caden is away working out.
“I don’t think it’s going to be easy,” the influencer added. “College football has been so fun. I’m honestly just so excited to see where we’re going and what we’ll be doing. I just feel like this is such a huge step in life [and] I’m so excited to see what happens.”
Ariana Grande opened up about the emotional process of filming Wicked: For Good, teasing a new song for Glinda as well as a major transformation for the character.
While appearing on Variety’s “Awards Circuit Podcast,” released on Saturday, January 11, Grande, 31, opened up about filming the song “For Good,” the iconic duet between Glinda and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo). For the uninitiated, the song marks a pivotal moment for the characters in the upcoming Wicked sequel.
“Shooting ‘For Good’ was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” Grande shared. “It was such a long and emotional process. I kind of left my body. We filmed it over the course of a week, and it stayed with me. I haven’t even seen the final cut yet because I’m not sure I’m ready to feel all of it again.”
Wicked: For Good will also feature a completely new song for Glinda, which was written by composer Stephen Schwartz for the film.
“It’s a pivotal moment in Glinda’s journey,” Grande reveals. “It shows a side of her we’ve never seen before. In the stage show, this transformation happens offstage. But in the movie, we get to see her make the decision that defines who she is. It’s a privilege to sing this song and be the first Glinda to bring it to life.”
Glinda was originally played by Kristin Chenoweth in Wicked on Broadway. Speaking with Variety, Grande further reflected on her own interpretation of the character, saying, “From the moment it was announced, I realized this role would live with me forever.”
She continued, “It’s an honor, but it also comes with so much weight. I wanted to do it justice. Glinda isn’t just a character to me — she’s a symbol of growth and love, and I wanted to give her everything I had.”
Directed by Jon M. Chu, Wicked is based on the Broadway musical and Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel of the same name. It follows the story of Elphaba, a.k.a. the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda, a.k.a. Glinda the Good Witch, before and during the events of The Wizard of Oz as their relationship develops from rival roommates to best friends, set against the backdrop of societal turmoil in the land of Oz.
Erivo, for her part, also gushed about one of the sequel’s new songs on a December 2024 episode of Variety’s “Award Chatter” podcast.
“I collaborated on one of the new songs, and it’s so special to me,” she said at the time. “When we filmed it, the entire crew was in tears. I hope audiences are ready — it’s a song that speaks to the heart of who Elphaba is.”
She continued, “We’re diving deeper into the consequences of the characters’ choices. The story is richer, and the stakes are higher. It’s not just a continuation; it’s a transformation.”
Wicked is in theaters now and is available to rent and purchase on digital platforms. The sequel, titled Wicked: For Good, will hit theaters on November 21.
“I’m very fortunate. The man that I am married to is Senator Vincent Hughes, seventh Senatorial District of Pennsylvania,” the Abbott Elementary star, 68, told People in a profile published on Wednesday, January 8. “You fall in love with somebody and you realize he’s not leaving his career. He’s not leaving Philadelphia. I’m not leaving Hollywood. When you have children, it’s very difficult.”
Ralph and Hughes, 68, have been married since 2005. The actress was previously married to Eric Maurice, with whom she shares son Etienne and daughter Ivy-Coco.
Ralph is based in Los Angeles, where she films ABC’s Abbott Elementary, while Hughes keeps a residency in Pennsylvania for his political constituency.
“Every two weeks we saw each other, and it has continued to work out well,” she explained to the outlet. When I go to see him, I love to see him. When it’s time to leave, ‘Bye-bye. See you soon.’ I’m telling you, life is good.”
Ralph continued, “He has his own life. I have my own life. He has his own real career, I have my own real career. He has his light to stand in, I have my light to stand in. He is not looking at me thinking about status or this or that. He’s doing his thing. I get to do my thing.”
That being said, Ralph and Hughes remain each other’s biggest career cheerleaders.
“It’s all good,” Ralph explained, citing communication as their secret to success. “I’ve evolved into [saying], ‘Let’s talk about it.’ If you sit in problems, you get anxious, depressed, and all the juiciness in life starts to dry up. I can’t have that, because all of that will mess with my good looks!”
“I see him every two weeks and when I see him I’m so happy to see him and then when I’m leaving I’m so happy to leave ‘cause I know I’ll be back again!” Ralph told Extra in December 2023.
Weeks later, she reiterated that the long-distance romance works for them.
“[Vincent and I] live together on and off, in that I’m shooting Abbott Elementaryin L.A. [and] he is at the Capitol every week,” Ralph told E! News. “So, we see each other in between [our busy schedules].”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 16: Aubrey PlazaAmy Sussman/WireImage
Aubrey Plaza has deleted her Instagram account one week after the death of her late husband, Jeff Baena.
While Plaza’s account was previously active, a message now reads, “Sorry, this page isn’t available.”
Plaza’s decision to erase her account comes after news broke that Baena died at age 47. According to medical examiner records reviewed by Us Weekly, Baena’s official cause of death is listed as suicide. No additional causes or suspicious circumstances surrounding Baena’s passing were listed.
Days later, Plaza’s rep addressed his death in a statement on behalf of the Parks and Recreation actress and her family. “This is an unimaginable tragedy,” the statement to Us read. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”
Prior to his death, Plaza, 40, and the filmmaker had been together for 14 years and exchanged vows in 2020. One year after saying “I do,” Plaza recalled how she and Baena decided to tie the knot.
“A lot of things happened during COVID for me. Yes, we got married. Big deal,” Plaza recalled during a December 2021 appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. “We got a little bored one night. We got married and I’ll tell you how: Onehourmarriage.com. That’s real, look it up.”
Aubrey Plaza and Jeff BaenaMichael Loccisano/Getty Images
Plaza continued, “We were in the lockdown. Things got a little crazy, especially in my house. My husband got really into tie-dying and when I say tie-dying, I mean 50 shirts a day.”
The White Lotus actress said she wanted to “do something” special for their 10th anniversary and decided to throw a ceremony in their backyard.
“I created a very quick love altar in our yard. Facts of our love, little stones, smoke, fire. Things of that nature,” she said. “Then the man from Alhambra showed up in a Hawaiian shirt with a briefcase [to perform the ceremony]. … I can’t remember a lot of it, it was fuzzy. But I’m pretty sure it’s legal.”
The following year, Plaza shared that her nuptials to Baena was not well-received by some fans. “Oh, my God. Jeff got death threats in his DMs,” Plaza told Cosmopolitan in a 2022 profile. “I think so. People project so much stuff onto marriage, but it wasn’t some big statement I’m trying to make where I want everybody to react to it.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
Craig Melvin is stepping into a new role at Today after being part of the morning show family since 2018.
After Hoda Kotb announced her departure from Today in September 2024, Melvin was named as the morning show’s new coanchor alongside Savannah Guthrie. Melvin gushed in November 2024 that he is “beyond excited and grateful” to be taking over for Kotb.
“I want to, obviously, thank NBC and the folks here who deemed me worthy,” he said at the time. “I’ve enjoyed just a lifetime of blessings, and this is the latest in a long line of blessings.”
News of Melvin’s new role was well-received in the office, a source exclusively told Us Weekly. “Craig is so awesome, people were cheering when they got the staff email,” an insider said. “He’s the best – everybody is so excited for him.”
The source added that Melvin made sense as a replacement for Kotb. “He has been ‘Steady Eddie’ for seven years – alongside Savannah and Hoda,” the insider added. “It was the right choice, the clear choice, the choice that everybody could get behind. He is so beloved.”
Scroll down for what to know about Melvin’s first day as a Today coanchor:
When Is Craig Melvin’s 1st Day as Today Coanchor?
Nathan Congleton/NBC
Days after Kotb’s final appearance as a coanchor on Today, Melvin will begin his new role alongside Guthrie on Monday, January 13.
“Craig, I mean, I’m so happy for you,” Kotb said through tears on the Friday, January 10, episode of Today. “You’ve earned this. You own this. And come Monday at 7:00 a.m., I’m going to be dead asleep but you’re going to be fantastic. You are going to bring it home. Craig, you’re going to be so good.”
Will Craig Melvin Continue to Cohost the 3rd Hour?
Prior to following in Kotb’s footsteps, Melvin served as a news anchor on the show’s first and second hours. He also was a third hour cohost alongside Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer — a position he will continue to hold.
Melvin will not be taking over as cohost of the fourth hour alongside Jenna Bush Hager. While the show finds a replacement for Kotb, the fourth hour will be renamed as Today With Jenna & Friends and will feature a lineup of rotating guest cohosts.
How Much Is Craig Melvin Making as Today Coanchor?
A separate insider exclusively estimated to Us in November 2024 that Melvin will make around “$5 or $6 million” in his new gig.
Netflix has postponed the premiere of Meghan Markle’s With Love, Meghan docuseries following the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles.
“I’m thankful to my partners at Netflix for supporting me in delaying the launch, as we focus on the needs of those impacted by the wildfires in my home state of California,” Meghan, 43, said in a Sunday, January 12, statement shared on Netflix’s Tudum.
Meghan lives near L.A. in Montecito, California, with her husband, Prince Harry, and their two children: Princess Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3. The couple, who stepped down from their royal duties in 2020, have been lending a hand amid the natural disaster — both were seen volunteering with World Central Kitchen on Friday, January 10.
Meghan is a California native and filmed With Love in the Sunshine State. In the show, she will share her love for lifestyle trends, cooking, gardening and more with viewers and her famous friends.
Initially slated for release later this month, the eight-episode series will now hit the streaming platform on Tuesday, March 4.
“In each episode, we join Meghan in the kitchen, garden — and even at the beehive — as she prepares to host friends both old and new,” a Netflix description reads. “Whether Meghan is sharing personal tips and tricks, or taking the opportunity to learn something new, it’s a time for connection.”
“I’ve always loved taking something pretty ordinary and elevating it,” she mused in the footage. “Surprising people with moments that lets them know I was thinking of them.”
The Duchess of Sussex will be joined by the likes of Mindy Kaling (who appeared in the trailer), Abigail Spencer, celebrity chef Roy Choi and Alice Waters.
“I was just on my maternity leave and Meghan texted me and said, ‘Hey, do you wanna come be in my show … come to Montecito and have me cook for you?’” Kaling, 45, told Deadline earlier this month. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, that sounds perfect. I would love to do that.’”
According to Kaling, Meghan’s culinary skills “unsurprisingly kind of blew me out of the water.”
“The thing about her recipes and being there is that it’s just really accessible,” Kaling gushed. “She has a garden from scratch, which I could never do, and chickens … they’d probably all die if I tried to take care of chickens. I was like, ‘Oh, this is very accessible.’”
Meghan and the Sex Lives of College Girls creator have been friends for years. In fact, Kaling previously appeared on Meghan’s “Archetypes” podcast before receiving a limited sample of her American Riviera Orchard strawberry jam.
With Love, Meghan premieres on Netflix Tuesday, March 4.
Check the LAFD website for local wildfire alerts and click here for resources on how to help those affected.
“She’s eating for 3 now ,” Nelson, 33, and boyfriend Zion Foster wrote in a joint Instagram post on Sunday, January 12, announcing what appears to be a twin pregnancy and sharing a simple maternity photo.
In the snap, Nelson held a Polaroid picture of her and Foster, 26. The British singer wore a white sports bra and a pair of camouflage pants that showed off her bare baby bump. Foster rested his hand on Nelson’s belly.
Nelson also reshared the upload onto her Instagram Stories with two baby emojis, again appearing to indicate that she is expecting twins.
Her famous friends celebrated the happy news in the comments section.
“Massive congrats! The best thing in the world xx,” former Love Island UK host Laura Whitmore, who shares a daughter with husband Iain Stirling, commented.
Nelson and Foster have been linked since January 2022. They later collaborated on the duet “Mine” in August 2024.
Nearly five years earlier, Nelson wasn’t sure if parenthood would be in the cards.
Jesy Nelson and Zion FosterCourtesy of Jesy Nelson/Instagram
“No, I don’t want children. It’s just not in me,” she told Glamour UKin October 2021. “I think as a woman, [motherhood is] either in you or it isn’t. You either have that maternal feeling or you don’t, and I’ve never had that feeling.”
She added at the time, “I think women have to do what is right for them. My mum is my hero. She brought up four kids single-handed. To me, she is Wonder Woman, but I know it was hard. There’s never been a part of me that’s thought, ‘Oh, I’d really love a baby.’ I’ve been so in love, thought ‘this is the one for me,’ but [I’ve] still not wanted a baby.”
Nelson rose to fame as part of the U.K.’s Little Mix alongside Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock after they were put together as a group on The X Factor UK in 2011. Nelson was the first member to leave, announcing her exit in December 2020. The rest of the musicians went on an indefinite hiatus in 2024.
Nelson is now the third Little Mix star to become a mother. Pinnock, 33, shares 3-year-old twin daughters with husband Andre Grey, while Edwards, 31, and fiancé Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are parents to 3-year-old son Axel. Pinnock and Edwards were pregnant at the same time.
Both musicians were thrust into the spotlight alongside Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson while on The X Factor in 2010 to form One Direction. After releasing four albums as a group, Malik announced his departure from the boy band in March 2015.
“He had to do what he had to do really, for himself,” Payne said of Malik during a May 2015 interview. “It’s fine. We’re just going to carry on doing what we’re doing. We wish him all the best with whatever he goes into and stuff. We’ll just have to see what happens.”
As One Direction went their separate ways and the guys kicked off their solo endeavors, Payne (who died at age 31 in October 2024) offered insight into some of the band’s dynamics — including his relationship with Malik.
Keep scrolling to see Payne and Malik’s ups and downs over the years:
No Bad Blood
In 2017, Payne said all was “fine and good” with Malik despite the “Pillowtalk” singer’s negative comments about being in the group.
“If he feels hurt and scorned in some sort of way that I don’t really understand, that’s down to him so there we go,” Payne shared on “The Dan Wootton Interview” podcast at the time. “It is very sad because One Direction was a wonderful, wonderful time in all of our lives.”
Subtle Shade Toward Malik
“Zayn makes music, but he doesn’t really perform,” Payne stated on the “Killing It” podcast in April 2020. “For him, he had such performance anxiety that he just couldn’t put his head around it.”
Michael Buckner/AMA2014/Getty Images for DCP
Payne recalled watching Malik’s “really great” first solo performance after leaving the group.
“I think he is just kind of happy,” Payne speculated. “He likes going to the studio, making the songs, he just doesn’t want to do anything that happens after that. But he is streaming hugely.”
The TikTok Poking Fun
In September 2021, Payne posted a now-viral TikTok poking fun at Malik’s departure from One Direction and asked fans to “see the funny side” of it.
Payne could be seen mouthing the words: “Are we absolutely sure what direction we’re going?” He wrote, “POV the meeting after Zayn quit,” on the screen.
The Podcast Drama
Payne admitted there were “many reasons” why he didn’t like Malik during a May 2022 appearance on Logan Paul’s “Impaulsive” podcast. However, the “Strip That Down” singer said there are “many reasons” why “he’ll always be on [Malik’s] side” too.
Most notably, Payne referenced Mailk’s upbringing and compared their home lives while growing up.
“My parents are overly supportive to the point where it’s annoying at times. Zayn had a different upbringing in that sense,” Payne shared. “You can always look at the man for where he is and say, ‘Oh, yeah, whatever, that guy’s a d—.’ But at the end of the day, once you’re understanding what he’s been through to get to that point — and also whether or not he wanted to be there.”
During the same interview, Payne notoriously noted that he and one of his former One Direction band members “hated each other” during their time in the band. (Payne’s ex-fiancée Maya Henry has since revealed he was talking about Malik.)
“Like, come to blows hate each other, it was close,” he said. “There was one moment where there was an argument backstage, and one member in particular threw me up a wall.”
Following the comments, Malik posted a since-deleted video of him singing his famous riff from One Direction’s “You & I,” which fans took as a response.
Payne’s Apology
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
The following month, Payne seemingly addressed the podcast comments.
“I wouldn’t normally comment on this stuff but when it’s your family it’s hard to let it slide,” he shared via X in June 2022. “They mentioned a specific incident involving Zayn which I responded to — but listening back maybe I didn’t articulate myself as well as I could have.”
The social media post continued: “I was saying that there will always be things we disagree on but that I will always, always be on his side. That’s family. Zayn is my brother and I will stand by him forever.”
“A lot of what I said came from the wrong place,” he admitted. “I was so angry at what was going on around me and instead of taking a look inwards I decided to look outwards at everybody else and I just think, yeah, I took it out on everybody else, which is just wrong, really.”
Addressing Malik by name, Payne added: “The rest of the boys really stuck by me when I needed them most, they kinda came to the rescue. Even Zayn, as well, which is why I did send him a little thank you online.”
David M. Benett/Getty Images
Still Supporting Each Other
Payne commented on a June 2023 Instagram post that showed Malik teasing new music.
“This sounds big already,” he wrote. Malik replied, saying, “Appreciate it bro, thanks for the love.”
Forever in His Heart
“Liam, I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me, I can’t help but think selfishly that there are so many more conversations for us to have in our lives. I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life,” Malik wrote via Instagram in October 2024, one day after Payne died in Argentina. “When I was missing home as a 17-year-old kid you would always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know that you were my friend and that I loved.”
Malik recalled thinking that although Payne was younger than him, he was “always more sensible,” saying, “You were headstrong, opinionated, and gave no f— about telling people when they were wrong. Even though we butted heads because of this a few times, I always secretly respected you for it,” he continued.
The “Dusk Till Dawn” singer gushed about Payne’s musical talents, noting that he was “the most qualified in every sense.” He confessed that he was a “novice child with no experience” when he met Payne. (Malik also shared a photo from their 1D days in which the two slept soundly on the road.)
“I was always happy to know, no matter what happened on stage we could always rely on you to know which way to steer the ship next,” Malik wrote. “I lost a brother when you left us and can’t explain to you what I’d give to just give you a hug one last time and say goodbye to you properly and tell you that I loved and respected you dearly.”
He concluded: “I will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever, there is no words that justify or explain how I feel right now other than beyond devastated. I hope that wherever you are right now you are good and are at peace and you know how loved you are. Love you bro.”
Malik went on to honor Payne during a November 2024 concert. Before the encore of Malik’s show, the lights flicked off and on as a memorial graphic was shown. “Liam Payne 1993-2024,” the sign read. “Love you bro .” Malik’s song “Stardust” played in the background.
Kelly, Matthew Stafford and kidsCourtesy of Kelly Stafford/Instagram
After Kelly Staffordand her four daughters left the hospital following an undisclosed illness, they hit the road to cheer on Matthew Stafford’s first Los Angeles Rams playoff game.
“Found our happy place in AZ,” Kelly, 35, wrote via Instagram Stories on Sunday, January 12, along with a snap of two of her daughters looking less than pleased at a Waffle House restaurant. “I promise we are happy.”
Kelly and Matthew, 36, have been together since college, later welcoming four daughters. They share twins Sawyer and Chandler, 6, Hunter, now 4, and Tyler, 2.
During their Sunday brunch, the Stafford girls noshed on waffles, eggs, hash browns and bacon.
“Last night was long,” she wrote in a Saturday, January 11, upload. “Back in beds and sleeping, everyone except Hunter. Feels like she drank a Celsius. … Before that tho, they were all smiles getting to go with daddy on his work trip.”
Courtesy of Kelly Stafford/Instagram
Kelly brought the girls along for Matthew’s “work trip” to Arizona for the Rams’ Wild Card matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. The game was scheduled to be played at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium but was moved amid the ongoing wildfires in and around the Los Angeles area.
“It’s a tough thing to watch on the news, to be around, to see,” Matthew said in a press conference earlier this week. “Driving around seeing all that, it’s just really sad to see what’s going on. Obviously, a bunch of people [are] doing everything they possibly can to try and get things under control and get people back to normal as quickly as possible.”
He added, “Every time we suit up, we’re the Los Angeles Rams. We play for the people in this community. The people in this community support us. This week will be another example of that, obviously. Hopefully a great escape for people who have been going through a lot of tough times.”
Kelly, for her part, organized a slew of charter buses to transport Rams fans to Arizona in time for the Monday, January 13, football game.
“Have a safe drive,” she wrote via Instagram on Sunday, reposting a fan’s grateful message about the offer. “See y’all soon.”
Check the LAFD website for local wildfire alerts and click here for resources on how to help those affected.
“.Happy Heavenly Birthday. ,” Dorsey, 41, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, January 12. “5 birthdays since you’ve been gone. Thoughts everyday about how it went wrong. The memories attached to places, Still see all the things, see all our faces.”
“Visions of happiness and sadness, 15 years flash by when I hear a certain song. I shake my head often still in disbelief, They say time heals all, but all is not grief,” he continued. “Doing the best I can for our JoJo Binx, As the time goes by, Im often alone and sit and think.I think more of our better times, Like this picture from the past, but it still f—— stings.”
Alongside his message, Dorsey shared a picture of him and Rivera walking hand in hand while attending a previous Golden Globes award show.
“So give Emmy and Lucy one good rub, And if you’re reading this, Be kind to the ones you love, You’ll never know when you give your last hug. .” (Emmy and Lucy were the former couple’s dogs.)
Dorsey and Rivera tied the knot in 2014 and welcomed son Josey the following year. “They are so excited to be first-time parents,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly at the time. “It was a very easy pregnancy and birth. Naya was born to be a mother and is doing really great so far. And Ryan has amazing paternal instincts and has been waiting on them both hand and foot.”
The pair divorced in 2018, coparenting their son until Rivera died in July 2020 at age 33. Rivera was swimming at Lake Piru in California with Josey when she drowned.
Since her death, Dorsey has continued to honor Rivera via emotional social media tributes. In January 2023, Dorsey commemorated Rivera’s birthday with a series of throwback photos of her and Josey.
“A little easier with each little bit of time that passes by to look at pictures…but I still don’t have the answers to the questions to the why’s our sweet boy asks from time to time. I never will,” he wrote via Instagram. “Doing the best we can. Fly high .”
He continued, “If you’re reading this no matter what you’re going through, take a moment of gratitude that you’re still here on this ride. I know some days are harder than others to get up, but keep we just gotta keep pushing onward. .”
Ashley Tisdale is opening up about the toll the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires are taking on her mental health.
“There are times in my life due to my mental health where I feel very alone, even when I’m out to dinner with friends,” Tisdale, 39, wrote in an emotional post shared via her Instagram Stories on Saturday, January 11.
“This experience has shown me how many amazing people I have in my life and I am far from alone,” she continued. “The amount of people checking in with each other is so amazing. You realize in dark moments you have each other. The human connection is not lost. Shout out to the mom group that’s there in the highs and the lows.”
Tisdale went on to tag several of her friends in the post, including Hilary Duff, Mandy Moore and Meghan Trainor.
In another candid post, Tisdale also opened up about how difficult it is to parent during such a heartbreaking time.
Courtesy of Ashley Tisdale/Instagram
“It’s all too much,” she posted, as reported by Entertainment Tonight. “Trying to be a parent to my two kids while I’m scared as hell and calling my own parents. I’m traumatized.”
Tisdale and her husband Christopher French share two daughters, Jupiter Iris and Emerson Clover.
At least 16 people have lost their lives as a result of the five wildfires burning in and around the greater Los Angeles area, according to local officials who stressed the death toll is likely to climb as more search and recovery efforts are underway. According to NBC News, the first have burned through at least 37,000 acres and have destroyed or severely damaged more than 12,000 structures. Thousands of residents have been forced to flee their homes under mandatory evacuation orders.
Tisdale’s BFF, Moore, 40, has also been vocal on social media about the devastating fires and how they are impacting her and her family, including her in-laws who she says lost their home in the blaze.
AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
“We were able to park and walk up our street to bear witness to all the loss,” Moore wrote in one Instagram post on Friday, January 11. “Miraculously, the main part of our house is still standing. For now.”
“It’s not livable but mostly intact,” Moore continued. “We lost Taylor and griffin’s studio with every instrument and piece of equipment they’ve ver owned. We lost our garage and back house. Everyone we know lost everything. Every house on our street is gone. My in laws. My brother and sister in law — 6 weeks from welcoming their first baby. Our best friends. Feeling weird survivors guilt. We love this community and will do everything we can to help rebuild and support. Thanks for everyone for checking on us and offering us help. Altadena strong.”
Check the LAFD website for local wildfire alerts and click here for resources on how to help those affected.
“Our family is so proud,” Spelling, 51, gushed via Instagram Story on Saturday, January 11. “We need some levity right now. Watch @iamdeanmcdermott new movie Polar Opposites on Hallmark tonight.”
Polar Opposites, which premiered on Saturday, leads off the network’s slate of “Winter Escape” programming. The film stars Rhiannon Fish as illustrator Emma, who stows away on a cruise to Antarctica with engineer Andy (Markian Tarasiuk) in a bid to help her ailing dad working as a researcher in the arctic country. Emma’s father is played by McDermott, 58.
Spelling and McDermott married in 2004 and separated 19 years later in 2024. Together, they share five children. (McDermott is also father to son Jack from a previous relationship.)
“The post I didn’t want to have to do … days of watching destruction and monitoring and living in fear,” Spelling wrote via Instagram on Friday, January 10. “I haven’t posted or shared bc social media was saturated [with] amazing kindness, sorrowful loss, helpful shares and pleas. I didn’t want to be redundant. But, last night we were evacuated.”
She added, “I tried my best to hang in there and not just flee to flee but we had to finally. My hearts are with everyone who has lost and suffered so much. But, as a mama bear [with] 5 kiddos & fur babies your gut tells you when it’s time to take action.”
Markian Tarasiuk, Rhiannon Fish, Dean McDermott, Maeve QuinlanCourtesy Johnson/Hallmark
Spelling drove her kids — and their menagerie of pets — to safety.
“Friends who care told me for days to pack and have a plan. I should have listened,” she wrote on Friday. “I fit us all in barely. No clothes. But grabbed photo albums. And fled. … @airbnb saved us! Literally! They stepped in and found something to house our massive family and pets and same night.”
Spelling further concluded that her family is “OK.”
“We are some of the lucky ones,” she added. “It looked and felt like a movie I’d seen too many times. … We are safe. Woke up to a koi pond & a monarch butterfly sanctuary. Thanks, Dad!”
Tori is the daughter of Candy Spelling and the late Aaron Spelling, whose L.A. mansion was also lost in the fires.
A string of wildfires broke out in the Pacific Palisades and other surrounding neighborhoods earlier this week, ravaging thousands of acres of property. According to local officials, at least 16 individuals have died. Many residents also fled their homes under mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders.
Days after experiencing an unspecified health scare that landed him in the hospital, comedian Deon Cole was forced to evacuate his home in Los Angeles due to the ongoing wildfires.
“This day is devastating!!!! Left the hospital earlier, sick af, went home, then had to packed what I could to evacuate,” Cole, 53, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, January 12. “As I drove away I seen the fire rising from behind my house, It’s a nightmare!!! I got the flowers my mom gave me before she passed tho.”
Alongside his caption, Cole had shared a video he’d taken from the car as he drove through his neighborhood, capturing the thick smoke and intense, red glare of the fire as it continued to burn through the Los Angeles neighborhood. “Oh my God, look at this,” the Barbershop star can be heard saying in the video. “It’s right over my house.”
Cole, who celebrated his birthday on Thursday, January 9, had spent the day in the hospital following a health issue. He shared a selfie from his hospital bed via Instagram just two days before he was released and forced to evacuate, but did not provide any additional information regarding his health.
“Thank u all for your birthday well wishes. I sure could use them. Thank you all,” he wrote via Instagram earlier this week.
Deon ColeParas Griffin/Getty Images
Cole is one of tens of thousands of people whose home has been destroyed by the wildfires that began raging through the greater Los Angeles area on Tuesday, January 7.
A windstorm caused brush fires to move quickly through the Pacific Palisades and other Los Angeles neighborhoods — including Malibu and the Hollywood Hills — destroying or severely damaging more than 12,000 structures, and placing over 150,000 people under mandatory evacuation orders.
A number of celebrities have lost their homes due to the historic fires, including Paris Hilton, Anna Faris, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, Billy Crystal, Mel Gibson and Milo Ventimiglia. Other stars like Mark Hamill, Jennie Garth and Mandy Moore are among those who were ordered to evacuate.
Hilton, 43, shared a video of what was left of her home via Instagram on Thursday, January 9, which had been completely burned to the ground.
“I’m standing here in what used to be our home and the heartbreak is truly indescribable.,” she wrote. “When I first saw the news, I was in complete shock — I couldn’t process it. But now, standing here and seeing it with my own eyes, it feels like my heart has shattered into a million pieces.”
She continued, “This house wasn’t just a place to live — It was where we dreamed, laughed, and created the most beautiful memories as a family. It was where Phoenix’s little hands made art that I’ll cherish forever, where love and life filled every corner. To see it reduced to ashes… it’s devastating beyond words. (Hilton shares son Phoenix, 2, and daughter London, 12 months, with husband Carter Reum.)
Congrats @heidimontag 
,” she wrote.
.Happy Heavenly Birthday. 
Fly high 
.”
,” she wrote. “When I first saw the news, I was in complete shock — I couldn’t process it. But now, standing here and seeing it with my own eyes, it feels like my heart has shattered into a million pieces.
