Jenna Bush Hager has finally revealed who her new permanent co-host on the Today show will be.
Sheinelle Jones will join the fourth hour of the flagship morning show as a permanent co-host alongside Bush Hager on the newly-named Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, starting on Jan. 12.
“Today I’m so thrilled to announce that I’ve found my forever friend and we’re gonna start a brand new journey in January,” Bush Hager said in Tuesday’s broadcast. “I couldn’t be more excited to share this person with you all.”
“You all know her, she’s an extraordinary broadcaster. But more importantly, she exemplifies exactly what this show is all about,” she continued.
Jones, who has worked for NBC News since 2014, will be the first permanent co-host for the show’s fourth hour since Hoda Kotb left the program last year.
Kotb, 61, was a pillar of the NBC morning news program for almost 20 years before leaving her daily anchor role.
The 47-year-old Jones will depart from her current role anchoring Today‘s 9 a.m. broadcast alongside Al Roker, Craig Melvin, and Dylan Dreyer to join Hager on the lighthearted 10 a.m. talk show. Roker, Melvin, and Dreyer will continue hosting the third hour of Today without Jones, who has co-anchored the program since 2019.
Jones was one of more than 60 guest hosts who joined Today with Jenna & Friends since its debut. Among the other guest hosts this year were Taraji P. Henson, Scarlett Johansson, Savannah Guthrie, and Tina Fey, as well as Hager’s husband, Henry.
Her co-hosting stint, airing in September, occurred three weeks after she returned to NBC News following the death of her husband of 17 years, Uche Ojeh.
Ojeh, 45, died from an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma in May. The couple shares three children: Kayin, 16, and 13-year-old twins Uche and Clara.
“My coach was gone, right? My life partner,” Jones told Bush Hager during a broadcast on Sept. 22. “The days after my first week were tough. Because it’s my new normal.”
The two noted their co-hosting chemistry on the air, with Jones comparing her guest appearance to a date.
“Hopefully this will be a date where you walk away and go, ‘OK, hopefully she calls me tomorrow!’” Jones told Bush Hager.
“You’re coming back,” Bush Hager replied.
Today executive vice president Libby Leist and Jenna & Friends executive producer Talia Parkinson-Jones celebrated the development in a statement shared to staff.
“This marks an exciting new chapter for the fourth hour,” the statement read. “Jenna and Sheinelle are two extraordinary talents who have grown within the ranks of Today. They are beloved for their authenticity, warmth, and genuine connection with our Today audience.”
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