Quick Read
- Sheinelle Jones returned to TODAY in September after a nine-month leave to care for her late husband.
- Her son recently suffered ‘growing pains,’ preventing him from playing soccer.
- Jones used the experience to teach her son about sportsmanship and being a supportive teammate.
- She and her children are navigating ‘firsts’—holidays and outings—since Uche Ojeh’s passing.
- Jones has been candid about her grief, sharing her journey with viewers and colleagues.
Sheinelle Jones Faces Parenting and Grief in the Spotlight
There are moments in life when the public eye feels less like a spotlight and more like a magnifying glass. For Sheinelle Jones, co-anchor of NBC’s TODAY, the last year has been one such time—a period marked by heartbreak, resilience, and the kind of real-life lessons that rarely fit into a morning segment.
On a recent Monday, Jones opened up to her colleagues and viewers about a weekend that tested her patience and her parenting skills. Her son, one of two teenage boys she shares with her late husband Uche Ojeh, had a soccer game scheduled far outside the city. He couldn’t play. Growing pains—those literal aches beneath the knees, so common among boys in their teens—had benched him, at least physically.
But Jones saw an opportunity. Instead of letting her son’s injury keep them home, she drove him the hour and a half out to the game. He sat on the bench, supporting his teammates, learning that being a good sport means showing up even when you can’t be the star. Jones admitted it wasn’t easy: “That was tough, but I was still trying to root for everybody else’s kids.” Her candor struck a chord not just with her co-anchors, but with parents everywhere who’ve faced similar moments—when disappointment must make way for character-building.
Life After Loss: Navigating the Firsts
Behind Jones’s parenting decisions is a deeper story. In May, her husband Uche Ojeh died at 45 after a battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. Jones took a nine-month leave from TODAY to care for him and their three children—Kayin, 16, and twins Uche Jr. and Clara, 13. She returned to the show in September, sharing with viewers the rawness of her grief and the challenge of re-entering public life.
“My heart is shattered in a million pieces,” Jones told Savannah Guthrie in an emotional interview. “The life that I’ve known since I was 19 is no more. I’ve always wanted kids, and I have three kids of my own now, and they’ve lost their dad. And I’m their mom. It sucks.”
The anchor’s honesty about her pain is as rare as it is necessary. She described how the loss of their father, who was deeply involved in their lives—traveling with them to World Cups, soccer camps, theater performances, and family vacations—has left a void. “The beautiful days are harder than the rainy days because the beautiful days he would have taken them out,” Jones reflected. “They would have gone to kick a ball.”
Her family’s first vacation after Ojeh’s death was, in Jones’s words, “a nightmare.” The activities that once brought joy—surfing, soccer on the beach—were now reminders of absence. For Jones and her children, every outing has become a “first”: first Father’s Day without him, first Thanksgiving, first time back out in public.
Returning to TODAY: Finding Community and Support
Jones’s return to TODAY was both a professional and personal milestone. On her first day back, she confessed to struggling to sleep, the jitters of re-entry mixing with the emotional weight of her year. “But it was just the best way to come back for me,” she said. “Because today [Monday] I feel like [it’s] the second day of school, as opposed to the first day jitters.”
Her co-anchor Dylan Dreyer offered encouragement: “Use this week to settle in.” For Jones, the support of her colleagues and the TODAY audience has been crucial. She recounted a rainy trip to Times Square with her kids, ponchos on, to watch an outdoor Broadway medley celebrating New York’s 400th anniversary. People recognized her—but instead of the “puppy eyes” of pity, Jones was met with “go get ’em” looks. It was, as she put it, “the hope” she needed.
The sense of community extended beyond the studio. In a live segment, Jones’s best friends surprised her on air, a moment filled with emotion and laughter. These gestures, both public and private, have helped anchor her during a year that has often felt adrift.
Lessons in Resilience: Teaching by Example
Jones’s approach to her son’s injury—and her family’s grief—has been to teach resilience, both by word and by action. When she drove her son to the soccer game, knowing he’d sit out, she was showing him that presence matters. That even when you can’t play, you can still support. That being a teammate isn’t just about scoring goals, but about showing up for others.
As Jones puts it, these are the moments that build character. They are also the moments that test parents, especially single parents navigating loss. She’s candid about the challenge: “It’s been tough.” But she’s equally clear about the necessity of pushing through, of marking the “firsts,” even when each one is bittersweet.
Jones’s story resonates because it’s so recognizably human. The mixture of exhaustion and hope, pain and perseverance, is familiar to anyone who’s faced loss or struggled to parent through adversity.
Sources: Hello! Magazine, People, TODAY
Sheinelle Jones’s journey is a testament to the quiet power of showing up—for your family, your community, and yourself. In navigating grief and parenting, she reminds us that resilience isn’t just about bouncing back; it’s about moving forward, even when the road is tough. Her openness about loss and her determination to teach her children the value of presence and sportsmanship offers a blueprint for how to live through pain with grace and authenticity.