"He was an extraordinary person" - Today's Savannah Guthrie talks about co-host Sheinelle Jones' late husband's struggle with cancer

TODAY host Sheinelle Jones is mourning the loss of her husband, Uche Ojeh, who succumbed to aggressive brain cancer this week.

On the Friday, May 23 segment, Savannah Guthrie announced that Ojeh had died at the age of 45 after a “courageous battle” with glioblastoma. She was joined by co-hosts Craig Melvin, Al Roker, Carson Daly, Dylan Dreyer, and Jenna Bush Hager, as they all paid tribute to Ojeh.

"Uche had a beautiful, deep, abiding faith every single day of this fight and you could see it in his eyes. He was an extraordinary person," Guthrie, 53, said on air, per People Magazine. "And we love him and we love you, Sheinelle."

Shortly after, Sheinelle Jones took to Instagram to reflect on the support she has been receiving. She shared a clip of the segment and captioned it:

"Thank you, for all of your love and support. ❤️"

Sheinelle Jones's late husband, Uche Ojeh's life and legacy explored as Today co-hosts pay their respects:

Sheinelle Jones, a renowned journalist, announced on January 15 that she would be taking a long leave of absence from the show to address a family health matter. In a post on social media at the time, Jones shared:

"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.” "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," she continued. "Your kindness means so much to me. I’ll see you soon."

In Friday’s segment, Savannah Guthrie said of Uche Ojeh:

“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." She added, "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. ... We just want to say Sheinelle, Kayin, Uche and Clara and the Ojeh family: we are with you, we love you. You are our family and we're just sending all of our love to you right now."

Craig Melvin echoed the sentiments:

"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 of every soccer game. He was at all of the concerts and the recitals. He was that guy."

Jones and Ojeh first met at their alma mater, Northwestern University, when he was still a high school senior. After eight years of dating, Ojeh proposed to her on the same university campus. They wed in 2007, and over the years welcomed three children: 15-year-old Kayin and 12-year-old twins, Clara and Uche.

Over time, Jones has shared glimpses of their special family moments on social media, including anniversaries and birthdays. Back in February 2023, she penned a loving message to her husband as he celebrated his 43rd birthday:

"To think it all started right here at Northwestern 25 years ago," she penned. "Then marriage a decade later. Then baby #1, then #2 & #3, moving to NYC, and 10,000 games, music and dance lessons later... We're just getting started."

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The U.S. Sun reported this past February that Sheinelle Jones is expected to return to Today soon, where she will replace Hoda Kotb as Jenna Bush Hager’s co-host. The pair will anchor the show’s fourth hour.

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