Sheinelle Jones Reveals Reason for Her Lengthy Absence From ‘Today’

Sheinelle Jones is addressing her month-long absence from Today. The 46-year-old reporter – who co-host’s 3rd Hour of Today alongside Al Roker, Craig Melvin, and Dylan Dreyer – has been absent from the long-running NBC show since Dec. 18, and notably missed Hoda Kotb’s final broadcast on Jan. 10. Opening up about her absence amid online speculation in a Jan. 15 Instagram post, Jones explained that she is taking some time away from Today due to “a family health matter.”

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A post shared by Sheinelle Jones (@sheinelle_o)

“Hi everybody….I sincerely appreciate all of you who have reached out while I’ve been absent from the show. I want to share with you that I’m taking time to deal with a family health matter,” Jones in the post, which she captioned with a red heart emoji. “It’s not lost on me how lucky I am to have not on 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”

Jones, who did not offer further information, signed the post, “Love, Sheinelle.”

During Wednesday’s broadcast of Today, Savannah Guthrie read Jones’ statement, adding, “We want to share some news here about our friend Sheinelle. We know so many of you have been asking about Sheneille and missing her and we miss her too.” Melvin added, “Sheinelle, we all love you and are so looking forward to having you back.”

Jones – who shares three kids with her husband Uche Ojeh: son Kayin, 15, and 12-year-old fraternal twins Clara and Uche Jr. – joined Today in 2014 and has gone on to appear across all of Today‘s programming. She currently co-hosts the 3rd hour of Today. However, she has not appeared on the NBC show since the before the holidays, with her last appearance coming on Dec. 18, and has only been featured in pre-recorded episodes since then. Carson Daly, Vicky Nguyen, Laura Jarrett, and Savannah Sellers have been stepping in to fill her space.

Many fans have expressed concern over Jones’ absence from the show, especially after she missed the “Hoda-bration” on Jan. 10 as Kotb appeared for her final episode. Prior to Jones’ Tuesday statement, the only explanation for her absence were her co-hosts telling viewers, “Sheinelle is off.”

Following Jones’ update, her Today family surrounded her with support. Commenting on the post, the official Today show account wrote, “We love you, Sheinelle.” Jenna Bush Hager commented, “You are a queen and are LOVED beyond measure! Wrapping our arms around you, always.” Guthrie added, “We love you so. not the same without you. we will see you soon.”

This marks the second extended absence for Jones, who previously took a leave of absence after undergoing vocal chord surgery in 2020. It’s unclear when she is set to return to the Today set.