This friend is here to stay.
Sheinelle Jones has stepped away from the third hour of “Today” to replace Hoda Kotb and join Jenna Bush Hager on “Today with Jenna & Friends” full-time.
Jones, 47, first joined the hit morning talk show when she started as a co-host for “Weekend Today” back in 2014.
She later transitioned to a weekday role on the third hour of NBC’s “Today” in 2019, where she largely remained until this week.
The “Wild Child” host took a leave of absence from the third hour of “Today” beginning in December 2024. Jones had revealed that she was stepping back from the show for an extended time in January 2025 due to a personal situation.
“Hi everybody….I sincerely appreciate all of you who have reached out while I’ve been absent from the show,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “I want to share with you that I’m taking time to deal with a family health matter.”
“I sincerely appreciate all of you who have reached out while I’ve been absent from the show,” the news anchor added. “I want to share with you that I’m taking time to deal with a family health matter.”
It was later revealed that Jones’ husband of 17 years, Uche Ojeh, was battling an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma. He died from the disease in May.
“It’s a beautiful nightmare,” Jones said upon her return to “Today” in September. “My heart is shattered in a million pieces. The life that I’ve known since I was 19 is no more.”
“I’ve always wanted kids and I have three kids of my own now and they’ve lost their dad,” she added. “And I’m their mom. It sucks.”
Jones’ move to co-host with Hager was “the plan all along,” a source told The Post. “But they had to wait and see how she was when she got back.”
As for Bush Hager, she has been with “Today” since 2009.
Although the former first daughter began as a correspondent for the daily morning show, she went on to take over for Kathie Lee Gifford and join Kotb to co-host “Hoda & Jenna” in 2019.
Earlier this year, after Kotb left NBC after 26 years, Bush Hager’s show was rebranded to “Today with Jenna & Friends.”
“Thank you Hoda for everything you have taught me, everything you’ve given me: all the hugs, all the heart all the laughs, all the love,” Bush Hager read in an emotional letter to Kotb on Kotb’s last day.
“I will miss you my friend,” she concluded. “But I love you and am so proud! Love always and forever, Jenna.”
The post Sheinelle Jones leaves 3rd hour of ‘Today’ to join Jenna Bush Hager full-time — replacing Hoda Kotb appeared first on New York Post.
