The hosts of Today have offered some insight into how Sheinelle Jones has been coping with the death of her husband, Uche Ojeh.
On May 23, Savannah Guthrie announced on the NBC morning show that Ojeh died at age 45 after a private battle with the brain cancer glioblastoma. “There are no words for the pain that we feel for Sheinelle and their three young children,” she said. “Uche was an incredible person. We all loved him.”
Jones — who has been absent from Today since December 2024 to deal with her husband’s health — met Ojeh in the ’90s during their time at Northwestern University. They tied the knot in 2008 and went on to welcome three kids: son Kayin, 15, and twins Clara and Uche, 12.
“We just want to say Sheinelle, Kayin, little Uche and Clara, the Ojeh family, we are with you,” Guthrie added. “We love you. You are our family, and we are just sending all of our love to you right now.”
Jones broke her silence on Ojeh’s death via Instagram that same day, writing, “Thank you, for all of your love and support.”
A source later told Us Weekly that “there is no timing on when she will be back” on Today, adding that Jones is “focusing on her family” at this time.
Several Today hosts supported Jones at Ojeh’s funeral on May 30, including Jenna Bush Hager, Al Roker, Craig Melvin and Hoda Kotb.
Scroll down to see what the Today hosts have said about how Jones is dealing with her husband’s death:
Savannah Guthrie
“Sheinelle has been such a warrior, and she has stepped up and shown what love is and what love does for her husband,” Guthrie said while discussing Ojeh’s death on the May 23 episode of Today With Jenna & Friends. “And it has been a marvel to witness.”
Jenna Bush Hager
While chatting with Guthrie on Jenna & Friends, Bush Hager noted that Jones embodied her “[in] sickness and [in] health” wedding vows before and after Ojeh’s health battle. “And she’s — as we’ve talked to her over the last couple months — been this pillar [not only] for her husband but for her family, for those kids,” she praised. “And one of the things that I always was sort of amazed by was that she did it with such grace and with humor.”
Al Roker
“We tend to say, ‘Oh, I know what you’re going through. I know what you’re feeling.’ Nobody knows unless you’ve actually been in that,” Roker exclusively told Us at Kotb’s Joy 101 launch event on May 28. “So, we’re there. We just want to be there and pay tribute to the wonderful person that Uche was and still will be because he’s going to live on in those kids and live in all our memories.”
As the Today hosts paid tribute to Ojeh on May 23, Dreyer noted that Sheinelle was “always smiling” during her family’s difficult time. “She’s just a bright light whenever she walks into a room, even through this. She relied on her faith, she relied on her friends,” the third hour of Today cohost added.
While exclusively chatting with Us at Kotb’s Joy 101 launch, Dreyer praised Jones for being a “close friend.” She added, “I’ve reached out. I don’t want to push too hard. There’s just a lot of things that she must be juggling right now. I mean, I don’t know the right words besides, ‘I’m here. Whenever you need a hug, let me know. I’ll be there in a second.’ And, I mean, I pray for her every night.”
Craig Melvin
“What has been remarkable, also, is watching the way with which she has dealt with this, dealing with a husband who’s battling cancer and three young children that she’s had [take care of] by herself for a while now,” Melvin said on the May 23 episode of Today. “And every time you would talk to her, she would still find a way to laugh about something.”
