Today co-host Sheinelle Jones has opened up about navigating the grief of her husband’s death as she returns to the popular morning show.
Jones, 47, has been on leave from the third hour of Today — which she co-hosts with Al Roker, Craig Melvin and Dylan Dreyer — since January, when she announced she was navigating a “family health matter.” It was later revealed that her husband, Uche Ojeh, had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. He died in May, aged 45.
Her return to the show was announced by Savannah Guthrie earlier this week. The two sat down for what Guthrie described as a “deeply personal interview,” opening up about navigating the devastating loss of Ojeh and why Jones described the situation as a “beautiful nightmare.”
Speaking to Guthrie about returning to Today, Jones said: “I hope that just by me being on the set and me returning to work, it’s like, ‘OK, if I can do it, so can you, right?’
“So don’t get me wrong, my heart still hurts,” she continued. “So if you see me now and you see me laughing, or you turn on the morning show and I’m laughing or having a good time, you root for me... because I’m fighting for my joy.”
Jones also revealed that she continued to work at Today for almost a year after her husband’s diagnosis, often going straight from set to Ojeh’s chemotherapy sessions.
“And I got to that place where I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, so when I decided to take a leave [from Today], that was why — because I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring,” she said.
“And I was starting to feel like I didn’t want to miss it,” she continued.
Jones also spoke about the “beautiful nightmare” that was her husband’s diagnosis and subsequent death.
“It felt scary. It felt divine. It felt bigger than us,” Jones explained. “But at the end of the day, when we shut the door and it was just us, that was always when we felt like we were at our best.
“We would just hold hands, and the nurses would come in, and they would call us the lovebirds. And we would just look at each other, say ‘I love you,’ and hold hands. But that’s what I mean by beautiful nightmare.”
News of Ojeh’s death was shared by Today, with Guthrie telling viewers during the May 23 broadcast: “With profound sadness, we share this morning that Uche Ojeh has passed away after a courageous battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma.
“There are no words for the pain that we feel for Sheinelle and their three young children,” Guthrie continued. “Uche was an incredible person. We all loved him ... We just want to say Sheinelle, Kayin, Uche and Clara and the Ojeh family: we are with you, we love you. You are our family and we're just sending all of our love to you right now.”
Jones has been part of the Today team since 2014, first hosting the program’s weekend broadcasts before moving to the third hour in 2019.
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