'It's a Beautiful Nightmare': 'TODAY' Co-host Sheinelle Jones, 47, Breaks Down In Tears Discussing Late Husband Uche Ojeh's Death Following Brain Cancer Battle
Jones returned to 'Today' for the first time since December 2024 to discuss her husband's death.
Sept. 5 2025, Published 3:21 p.m. ET
Today co-host Sheinelle Jones heartbreakingly shared how she's been coping since her husband, Uche Ojeh, died in May following a battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Jones, 47. sat down with Savannah Guthrie to open up about her pain, as well as how their three children are handling life without their father in an interview that aired on the NBC morning show on Friday, September 5. She had been absent from Today since December 2024, taking leave of absence "to deal with a family health matter."
'It's Horrible'
Ojeh left behind the couple's three young children when he died at 45.
"My heart is shattered in a million pieces," Jones confessed. "The life that I've known since I was 19 is no more," she explained about how the broadcaster met and fell in love with her husband while they were students at Northwestern University. The college sweethearts married in September 2007. Ojeh was only 45 years old when he passed.
"I have three kids of my own now, and they've lost their dad, and I'm their mom. It sucks. So how am I doing? You know, it's day to day," Jones said of her emotional state.
"I'm proud of myself for how I've coped so far," she continued while giving herself grace. "I'm proud of my kids for how we've been able to try to pull through. But it's, it's horrible. It's just horrible. And it stinks. But I'm here, I'm breathing and I'm OK."
'A Beautiful Nightmare'
The beloved host broke down in tears discussing her pain.
"It's a nightmare. But something that you've said to me a lot over these months, sometimes it's a beautiful nightmare," Jones told Guthrie, 53.
The NBC personality went on to recall how she and her husband used to sit in her dorm room in college and stare out at a clock tower and "just talk and dream and sometimes just not talk and just be."
"And fast forward almost 30 years. I'm sitting in this beautiful, beautiful hospital room and we were looking at this beautiful view of New York City," she recalled.
"Here we are again, not talking, and I remember staring out the window, and I'm like, 'Oh my god, like it's like this crazy full circle moment here we are again, not talking, and it feels like a beautiful nightmare.'"
Jones remembered, "It felt bigger than us, but at the end of the day, like when we shut the door and it was just us. That was always when we felt like we were at our best. And my 19-year-old self did it, and then my 47-year-old self was doing it again."
Ojeh's Cancer Battle
Jones and Ojeh were marrired for 17 years before his death.
Guthrie noted how Ojeh had been in his cancer battle "for a long, long time."
Jones confessed that the couple got his "devastating diagnosis" just before she ran the New York City Marathon in November 2023. The TV host went on to complete the race to prove she could make it though "hard things," including Ojeh's health crisis.
"The way he fought it and the way we rallied together and the way we saw the best of humanity, that was beautiful," she wistfully recalled.
Jones' Private Pain
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Jones and her family are seen leaving her late husband's New York funeral on May 30.
Jones' interview with Guthrie marked her long-awaited return to Today after starting her leave of absence due to her husband's cancer battle in December 2024.
However, she didn't reveal Ojeh's cancer diagnosis until after his death, keeping his condition private,
An emotional Guthrie announced on May 23 during Today: "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."
"There are no words for the pain we feel for Sheinelle and their three young children," Guthrie added. "Uche was an incredible person. We all loved him."
Jones thanked fans shortly after the announcement in an Instagram post for their "love and support."
