Sheinelle Jones Joins Jenna Bush Hager as Co-Host

It’s time to change the tune from “Today with Jenna and Friends” to “Today with Jenna and Sheinelle.”

Sheinelle Jones is stepping in as Jenna Bush Hager’s permanent co-host on Today with Jenna & Friends. This comes nearly a year after Hoda Kotb departed the show. Variety shared the news on Tuesday.

Having been part of the series since 2014, Jones has frequently appeared in the show’s third hour but will now take on the fourth hour alongside Hager.

Kotb, 61, announced plans to leave NBC in September 2024 after a 26-year tenure.

At that time, Kotb mentioned it was time for her to “move on.” She officially exited NBC in January.

In March, Page Six reported that NBC had not yet selected a permanent co-host, even though there had been notable interest from various celebrities.

Meanwhile, Jones made her way back to the “Today” show in September following a significant personal loss—the death of her husband, Uche Ojie, from brain cancer in May. In a pre-recorded interview, she expressed how his passing “shattered my heart into pieces.”

Jones, 47, reflected, “Every day feels new. I’m proud of how I’ve been handling things and how my kids are coping.” She also mentioned, “Sometimes I think it would be nice to just stay in bed, but I can’t because I have three little beings relying on me.”

Later in the month, Jones provided insight into her work-life balance, noting that weekdays are more manageable for her than weekends. “Saturday mornings have been particularly hard,” she explained. “It’s that moment when my husband and I would look at each other and say, ‘What a week.’”

In her thoughts, she added, “It often hits me—’Oh my God, the interview on Tuesday, that’s what I should have said.’ Those moments linger.”