Sheinelle Jones opened up about her decision to temporarily step back from the Today show this year amid her late husband Uche Ojeh’s cancer battle.
“I know that I was strong, but I didn’t want to be so strong that I missed this blessing right in front of me [and] that I missed the fight,” Jones, 47, said during a Today interview that aired on Friday, September 5. “[I didn’t want to miss] looking in his eyes ‘cause I was his oxygen sometimes.”
According to Jones, she would tell Ojeh, “I love you” and “Look at me, I’m here” while he was undergoing cancer treatment.
Jones confirmed in January that she would take a sabbatical from Today following a then-undisclosed “family health matter.” The following May, cohost Savannah Guthrie revealed that Ojeh died after a battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 45.
“I wanted to be proud of [being there for Uche], so that was the only reason I thought, ‘All right, it’s time,’” Jones said on Friday of her hiatus from the broadcasts. “I always knew I would know when it was time to get off the treadmill for a second — and he was not very happy with me when I told him I was gonna take a leave from work.”
Jones said that Ojeh told her, “No, no, why?”
The answer was easy for Jones, who simply “wanted to be” with her husband of 17 years.
Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones, Craig Melvin and Dylan Dreyer on ‘3rd Hour Today’ in November 2024. Nathan Congleton/NBC
“He goes, ‘OK,’” she quipped. “It was weird for me. I’ve been popping up at 3 a.m. since I can remember, you know? But it was a beautiful time, and I’m happy I can say I wouldn’t trade it. I had Christmas, I had every morning [and] I had New Year’s. I had all the days fully. I was fully present. I fought for my joy, and I fought for being present.”
Jones also tried to be “present” for her and Ojeh’s three children: Kayin, 16, and twins Clara and Uche, both 13.
“It feels almost divine, but [Uche’s cancer battle and death] put me in the right mindset of ‘What kind of mother do I want to be?’” she added. “When I look back … I want them to remember that I fought for their happiness, that I was present [and] I fought for their dad, and I was a warrior for him and for them. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Jones further noted that she now feels “a little pressure” raising Kayin, Clara and Uche Jr. as a single parent.
“He just brings the party and I don’t have to. Now, it’s pretty clear, dad brought the party,” she said. “I feel a little pressure because I can’t be [their] dad. I can be the best mom I can be.”
