“I said from the start I felt it was cancer.”
On Friday, May 23, host of the “Today Show,” Savannah Guthrie made a heartbreaking announcement on behalf of her colleague and co-host, Sheinelle Jones.
“With profound sadness, we share this morning that Uche Ojeh, the husband of our friend and TODAY co-host Sheinelle Jones, has passed away after a courageous battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma,” Guthrie shared.
Ojeh was 45 years old.
“There are no words for the pain we feel for Sheinelle and their three young children. Uche was an incredible person. We all loved him. And so we want to take a moment to tell you more about the remarkable man who was Sheinelle’s perfect partner in life.”
According to Today, Jones and Ojeh have been married for 17 years.
Jones returned to Instagram to share the “Today Show” announcement on her personal page. She wrote, “Thank you, for all of your love and support.”
They met at Northwestern University. Jones was a freshman, Ojeh was on a college visit as a high school senior.
After nine years together, Jones and Ojeh wed in 2007 before welcoming their oldest son, Kayin, into the world in 2009 and then twins, Uche and Clara, in 2012.
“One thing he always talked about — he talked about those kids,” fellow “Today Show” co-host Craig Melvin continued. “He loved those kids more than anything else in this world, and was just so proud.”
“He was that dad that was on the sideline at every soccer game. He was at all the concerts, the recitals. He was that guy, and they had such a beautiful love story.”
Jones has been absent from her usual co-host chair at the “Today Show” since December 2024.
Until now, Jones hadn’t gone into detail about the reason behind her absence. However, previous statements have shared that Jones was dealing with a “family health matter.”
“I sincerely appreciate all of you who have reached out while I've been absent from the show,” Jones shared on Instagram in January.
“I want to share with you that I'm taking time to deal with a family health matter. It's not lost on [me] how lucky I am to have not only the support of my Today Show family, but to also have all of you. Your kindness means so much to me. I’ll see you soon.”
On May 3, while at the Kentucky Derby, her colleague and friend Dylan Dreyer told E! News that Jones is “doing all right. She's hanging in there. We're praying for her and her family. You know, she's just going through a tough time with her family.”
“We talk to her every day,” Dreyer continued. “One of us on the team talks to her every single day, and we're there to support her, and we'll welcome her back with open arms the second she can get back to us.”
