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\nToday’s Sheinelle Jones is opening up about the death of her husband of 17 years, Uche Ojeh, in this week’s cover storyShe says she never asked him to send her signs, but she received one during her cover interview\u201cThey say things come to you in electricity,\u201d Jones says of a moment during her interview that took everyone’s breath away<\/p>\n
Sheinelle Jones<\/a> never believed much in signs. Though she’s a proud woman of faith, she’s not so much a “woo woo person” she says with a laugh. But she believes her late husband sent her one during her PEOPLE cover interview<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n In this week’s issue, the Today broadcaster is opening up about life after the death of her husband of 17 years, Uche Ojeh<\/a>, who died of glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer,<\/a> at age 45 in May.\n<\/p>\n Jones and Ojeh were college sweethearts and share three children, son Kayin, 16, and twins Clara and Uche Jr., 13. While Ojeh was still alive, Jones, 47, admits they never talked about the end of his life. \u201cI think people have these visions of these long, heartfelt conversations and maybe you have those conversations when someone is older, but when someone’s 45 and on two soccer teams in the city, you’re not talking about the end, you’re fighting beside them,\u201d she says.\n<\/p>\n Sheinelle Jones and her family.<\/p>\n Courtesy Sheinelle Jones<\/p>\n But when Jones looked at her husband and saw how he only seemed to be trying to postpone his family\u2019s grief, she realized it might be selfish to want him to stay.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI remember towards the end \u2014 I didn’t know it was the end at the time \u2014 but he was so weak. It was right at the tip of my tongue, I wanted so badly to ask him \u2018If you die, can you just let me know that you’re okay? I don’t know how it works, but can you just try to find a way to let me know?\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I looked at him, and I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t want him to think, \u2018Not you too.\u2019 So I never asked.\u201d<\/p>\n Sheinelle Jones for PEOPLE.<\/p>\n Brian Doben<\/a><\/p>\n But as she spoke more about their bond during her interview, she got a sign.\n<\/p>\n When asked what she thinks her husband might say to her if he could on the morning of Jan. 12 \u2014 her first official day as cohost of Today with Jenna & Sheinelle <\/a>\u2014 Jones smiles.\n<\/p>\n “I can see his face,” Jones says, “because he was kind of swaggy and quiet, a little cocky, which I thought was attractive. And he was, I feel like, equally tough on me. There would be times where I would do a interview, especially politics, because he was super into politics, and he would be like, ‘Make sure you ask this, make sure you ask that.’ He was always like my silent coach. So I could see his face when it’s like a job well done, right? You closed the deal, you have a show with your name on it, and I could picture his hug. And honestly, it probably looks exactly like that blue cap picture [when he greeted her after she completed the New York City Marathon] where he just is so proud.”\n<\/p>\n Uche Ojeh hugs wife Sheinelle Jones after she finished the New York City Marathon on November 5, 2023.<\/p>\n Courtesy Sheinelle Jones<\/p>\n Just seconds later, every single light went out on set.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThey say things come to you in electricity,\u201d Jones says, absorbing the moment. “I know it’s him.”\n<\/p>\n Though Ojeh died in May, Jones says she still senses her late husband everywhere: in yellow butterflies, in sunflowers, in his tie that she gave to their son before his recent Model Congress event.\n<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I know that he knows,\u201d she says of her new gig as Jenna Bush Hager<\/a>‘s cohost on Today’s fourth hour. \u201cHe was rooting for me all along. I owe it to him to keep going.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Sheinelle Jones photographed at a Location Department home on December 19, 2025 in New York, NY. Photographer: Brian Doben Social: @briandoben Hair: Bianca Gachette Makeup: Danielle Terry Stylist: Brandyn Green Outfit: Victoria Beckham Jewelry: Wempe.<\/p>\n Brian Doben<\/a><\/p>\n On Jan. 12, Jones embarked on a new adventure \u2014 her first \u201cwin,\u201d she says, without Ojeh physically by her side, as she became Bush Hager’s new cohost.\n<\/p>\n \u201cPeople see me on TV and they think \u2018Oh, she\u2019s better.\u2019 It\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, no no. I\u2019m not better.\u2019 Every day, it\u2019s like swimming through mud,\u201d says Jones, who took about a year of absence from Today to care for her family. She returned in September 2025. \u201cI\u2019ve had to really do the work. Empathy is my superpower now, and I recognize that I hold two things: I hold my grief, and I also hold this joy. I said it months ago, and I\u2019ll say it now: I am fighting for my joy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Having her dream job has become a cornerstone of that joy. “Jenna and I look at each other and we’re safe. If I fall, she’s going to pick me up and vice versa,” says Jones. “If I told you the depth of my groans and tears just months ago to one of the best days of my life here today, you couldn’t even write it.”\n<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Sheinelle Jones photographed for PEOPLE on December 19, 2025 in New York City.<\/p>\n