Sheinelle Jones is easing back into her role at TODAY. The NBC anchor made her emotional — but triumphant — return to the show on Friday, September 5, almost nine months after first going on leave. In May, she confirmed the reason behind her absence was to take care of her late husband of 17 years Uche Ojeh, who passed away aged 45 after a battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Coming back to the 3rd Hour of TODAY alongside Dylan Dreyer and Al Roker for her second day back at work, sharing with her co-anchors what Friday — during which she not only returned to work but also sat down with fellow anchor Savannah Guthrie about the difficult last few months of her life — was like, she said: "It was overwhelmingly beautiful and kind."
© NBC"So I got home and I had a hard time going to sleep Friday night, just because it felt like a lot," she confessed, though then emphasized: "But it was just the best way to come back for me because today [Monday] I feel like [it's] the second day of school, as opposed to the first day jitters."
"Use this week to settle in," Dylan added, as Sheinelle shared that the past few days had in a way been representative of her "year of firsts" ahead. "We went out this weekend — it's kind of like the year of firsts [without Uche]. First Father's Day, first Thanksgiving, yesterday was our first outing, we hadn't been out in public. I had this irrational crowd anxiety, but it was the best thing."
She went on to share how "amazing" it was to go out to Times Square with her kids, even in the rain wearing ponchos, to go see a free outdoor show titled Founded By Broadway, a medley of different famous Broadway musicals and plays performed in honor of New York City's 400th anniversary.
© TODAY / Sheinelle JonesSheinelle added that while some people did recognize her, they didn't react with "puppy eyes" signaling pity, but rather they got "go get 'em" looks, which she noted has "been the hope" throughout her re-entry back into the public eye.
© NBCSheinelle and her husband Uche were married for close to 20 years, and share three kids, Son Kayin, 16, and fraternal twins Clara and Uche, 13. The couple met when she was a freshman at Northwestern University, and Uche was a visiting high school senior touring the school. Recalling the moment while speaking with Northwestern's campus magazine in 2024, she said: "I was a fake tour guide … I was just walking to class."
© Instagram"[I was like, 'Are you guys lost?' And] I told him I would take him around because he was cute. I was like, 'This is the Black House. … This is the Plex (aka Foster-Walker Complex), and if you need real tidbits, I'm probably not the one,'" she added. The two graduated a year apart, and after eight years of doing long distance, Uche proposed along the Northwestern lakefront.
