Sheinelle Jones Says Her Heart Is ‘Shattered’ in Emotional Return to ‘Today’ Show

Sheinelle Jones has returned to TODAY after the tragic death of her husband in May.

The third hour co-host had an emotional homecoming with her TODAY family in Studio 1A Friday as she opened up to Savannah Guthrie about coping with the loss of her husband of almost 18 years, Uche Ojeh, who died at age 45 following a battle with glioblastoma.

“My heart is shattered,” Jones said. “My heart is shattered in a million pieces. 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 journalist, who shared son Kayin, 16, and twins Clara and Uche, 13, with her husband, added that for now, she’s coping “day to day.” She added, “I’m proud of myself for how I’ve coped so far. I’m proud of my kids for how we’ve been able to try to pull through. But it’s horrible. But I’m here, I’m breathing and I’m okay.”

Calling Ojeh’s death a “beautiful nightmare,” Jones recalled, “To watch a 45-year-old do triathlons and live and breathe off of soccer and his kids? To take a guy like that, and watch him have to deal with this fight was a nightmare. The way he fought it and the way we rallied together and the way we saw the best of humanity was beautiful. So, it was my beautiful nightmare.”

When it comes to navigating her family’s grief, Jones said, “What I’ve told my kids, it’s almost like rain can’t last forever. And so when the rain comes, in some ways, I’ve learned to just look up at the rain and let it be a cleansing rain, and let it clear the air.”

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“And so I don’t run away from crying anymore,” she continued. “When it comes to grief, I see it as like, ‘Okay, here comes my cleansing rain, and it’s okay, and I almost feel better.’ And then I go back to what I’m doing. So I don’t fear it anymore.”

Jones initially took a leave of absence from the third hour of TODAY in December, citing a “family health matter” at the time.

After Ojeh’s death in May, Jones’ TODAY colleagues paid tribute to the beloved father and husband.

“With profound sadness, we share this morning that Uche Ojeh, the husband of our dear friend and TODAY cohost Sheinelle Jones, has passed away after a courageous battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma,” Guthrie said at the time. “There are no words for the pain that we feel for Sheinelle and their three young children. Uche was an incredible person. We all loved him.”