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Key Takeaways
Sheinelle Jones reflected on her first Mother’s Day without her husband Uche Ojeh, calling it unexpectedly difficult
Jones found comfort in her children’s achievements, including her daughter Clara’s recital and red carpet reporting skills
Despite her grief, Jones stayed busy with her kids’ activities and found joy in their resilience and growth
Sheinelle Jones is keeping it real about her grieving process.
The 48-year-old Today co-host’s husband, Uche Ojeh, died in May 2025 at the age of 45 after privately being diagnosed with glioblastoma.
Jones is mom to son Kayin, 16, and twins Uche and Clara, 13, and on Monday, May 11, she opened up about the challenge of celebrating Mother’s Day without her husband for the first time.
“I’ll be honest with you, it was kind of tough for me,” Jones admitted to co-host Jenna Bush Hager on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle. “I think when you have firsts — and Mother’s Day was a first for me since Uche passed — you fortify your heart, right? Christmas and Easter, you kind of fortify yourself. But there’s some holidays that you don’t see coming that are harder than you think. Mother’s Day was brutal.”
Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones talk Mother’s Day on ‘Today with Jenna & Sheinelle.’
Credit: NBC
Bush Hager noted, “Well, because really, he was probably the one that did everything.”
“He would be the one, correct. ‘Guys, we gotta get some cards!’ ” Jones reflected. “So I realized, ‘Oh, we don’t have that.’ I think we all quietly realized it.”
However, Jones found herself taking pride in her children’s accomplishments, calling them her real “Mother’s Day gift.” The longtime journalist said she hoped that her daughter Clara was inspired by her headline-making moments earlier in the week, dancing with Zara Larsson on Today and interviewing Rihanna at the Met Gala.
“Clara had a recital for this gala she was in and she was dancing and she was with the kids, and I zoomed in on Clara and I got a little teary-eyed because part of me wondered — and I can only hope — she saw me earlier that day, and I’m telling you, she just, the spunk, and I was so proud of her,” Jones said. “She did this red carpet reporting and — keep in mind last week was also Rihanna — and so Clara was, I was behind the scenes, watching her interview people at the gala, and I was teary just because she did such a good job.”
Sheinelle Jones’ daughter Clara interviews at a gala.
Credit: NBC
And despite struggling with Ojeh’s absence on the special day, Jones was able to find a “silver lining.”
“My little guy had a game at 9 a.m., Kayin had a game at 7 p.m., Clara had dance, so I couldn’t stay in bed,” she said. “And then watching Clara dance and my little guy’s been injured and watching his first game back, and then watching Kayin, he played on the higher team, I’m like, ‘OK, it’s gonna be OK.’ ”
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Bush Hager praised the realization, telling Jones, “Which is so ironic you found your joy in your kids, watching them and being proud of them, which is what Mother’s Day really should be about.”
Jones agreed, saying she “stuck the landing” of Mother’s Day.
The mother of three recently got lots of love from her kids, who surprised her on the show last month upon the release of her book, Through Mom’s Eyes: Simple Wisdom From Mothers Who Raised Extraordinary Humans.
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