Sheinelle Jones is pondering his return to the today show after her husband Ojeh’s mindpremature death
“I was worried I wouldn’t know how to smile,” Jones, 47, said Page Six in an interview published on Saturday, January 17, “I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to laugh. I love my job so much. And I said, ‘Oh my God, what if it’s not the same?’ Because I’ve never known this job without him.”
Jones took time out today as of December 2024, sharing via Instagram the following month that he was “taking time off to deal with a family health issue.” In May 2025, today trainer Savannah Guthrie announced on today that Ojeh died after a private battle against brain cancer. He was 45 years old.
“It is with deep sadness that we share this morning that Uche Ojeh, the husband of our dear friend and today Co-host Sheinelle Jones has died after a courageous battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma,” Guthrie shared at the time. “There are no words for the pain we feel for Sheinelle and her three young children. Uche was an amazing person. We all loved him.” (The couple shared son Kayin, 16, and twins Clara and Uche, 13).
Sheinelle Jones sat down for an emotional interview about the death of her late husband Uche Ojeh as she returns to her Today cohosting duties. During the Friday, Sept. 5 installment of the NBC morning show, which marked Jones’ first episode since Ojeh’s death, she spoke with her colleague Savannah Guthrie. “At the moment I’m fine. Day by day I’m (…)
Jones returned to the morning show in September 2025. Three months later, he was announced as Jenna Bush Hagerhill of after Hoda Kotb‘s today exit
“It’s an out-of-body experience, and the little girl in me and the woman who’s had a difficult 18 to 24 months are seeing everything that’s going on,” Jones said. Page Six on Saturday
Jones took her seat as Bush Hager’s co-host for the first time earlier this month, sharing a text message from Ojeh.
“I wasn’t planning on sharing this, but I shared it with Jenna and she has to make me share this with you guys,” Jones began during the episode. “So when Hoda announced that she was leaving, Uche always felt like, when we were in college, ‘Oh, you should do a show.’ She just felt like she should, and I used to be like, ‘Ugh, whatever.’
She continued, “And when Hoda announced that she was leaving, he was really sick and so he didn’t talk that much. But I could talk to him and he would send me emojis and stuff, and that’s how we’d talk. And so I’m going to show you a picture of the text that I just found from Uche in 2024.”
Ojeh’s message was displayed on the screen, which included a screenshot of an article about Kotb’s departure today. It included several emojis, including thumbs up and fingers crossed.
“He felt it was my turn to shine and try… And that was almost two years ago,” Jones reflected through tears. “What you don’t see is that I didn’t respond to that … it didn’t even register for me … And so now, it feels like confirmation, because here we are two years later.”