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Sheinelle Jones Opens Up About Husband Uche Ojeh’s Death: ‘A Beautiful Nightmare’
Sheinelle Jones is turning her pain into strength.
The Today cohost sat down for an emotional conversation with Savannah Guthrie on Friday, September 5 — her first day back on the NBC morning show since the heartbreaking death of her husband, Uche Ojeh.
“In this moment, I’m OK. Day-to-day, I’m OK. From a macro picture, how am I doing? My heart is shattered in a million pieces,” Sheinelle revealed. “The life that I’ve known since I was 19 is no more. I always wanted kids, and I have three kids of my own now and they lost their dad. I’m their mom, and it sucks. So, how am I doing? It’s day-to-day. 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 pull through, but it’s horrible.”
Sheinelle and Uche, who married in 2007, shared three children together — son Kayin, 16, and 13-year-old twins, Uche and Clara.
During the interview, Sheinelle reflected on the nearly three decades of love they shared, from their college days at Northwestern University to their final moments together. “I remember staring out the window, and I’m like, oh, my God, it’s like this crazy, full-circle moment,” she said of sitting in his hospital room with a view of New York City. “Here we are again, not talking, and it feels like a beautiful nightmare.”
She explained how they found strength in each other even in the darkest hours. “We would just hold hands, and the nurses would come in, and they would call us the lovebirds. And we would just look at each other, say ‘I love you,’ and hold hands. But that’s what I mean by beautiful nightmare.”
Uche’s battle with brain cancer tested Sheinelle’s faith, something she openly admitted. “There are times where I’m like, ‘God, I’ve been praying for this job since I was in fifth grade’ … and you take my husband. Are you kidding me?” she said. “Like, really?”
Despite her doubts, she ultimately leaned on her faith and treasured every moment with Uche. “I didn’t want to be so strong that I missed this blessing right in front of me — that I missed the fight, that I missed the beauty in the fight. That I missed just looking in his eyes. Because I was his oxygen sometimes. I would just (whisper), ‘I love you. We’re going to be OK. I love you. Look at me. I’m here.’”
The couple would have celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary on September 1. Through tears, Sheinelle confessed, “If you ask me if this was going to be my fate, I would do it all over again.”
Now back on Today, Sheinelle hopes her return will inspire others going through grief. “We don’t move on, but we move forward with our loved ones,” she shared. “So don’t get me wrong, my heart still hurts. So if you see me now and you see me laughing […] you root for me because I’m fighting for my joy.”
Uche passed away in May at age 45 after a private battle with glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive brain cancer. As 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.”
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