The “TODAY” show announced on Tuesday that Sheinelle Jones will co-host the fourth hour of the network’s flagship morning show alongside Jenna Bush Hager.
Bush Hager said that Jones, 47, will join her on the newly-named TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle. On Jan. 12, Sheinelle will become the fourth hour’s first permanent co-host since Hoda Kotb departed the show.
“This marks an exciting new chapter for the fourth hour,” “TODAY” executive vice president Libby Leist and Jenna & Friends executive producer Talia Parkinson-Jones said in a statement. “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.”
Jones is set to step away from the 3rd Hour of ‘TODAY’ to begin co-hosting Jenna & Sheinelle, but Craig Melvin, Al Roker, and Dylan Dreyer will remain co-hosts of the 9 a.m.
The announcement comes nearly a year after the departure of Hoda Kotb, a beloved mainstay of NBC News’ “TODAY” for almost two decades, in January. Kotb has remained at NBC in various roles, including hosting “TODAY’s” podcast “Making Space” and co-anching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Since Kotb’s departure, Bush Hager has invited a long list of celebrities to co-host the fourth hour of “TODAY” with her. Those who co-hosted “Jenna and Friends” include: Michelle Obama, Tyra Banks, Andy Cohen, Scarlett Johansson and Jones.
Sheinelle Jones on “TODAY.”Nathan Congleton / TODAY
Jones joined “Weekend TODAY” in 2014 and became co-host of “TODAY’s” third hour in 2019.
In January, Jones left “TODAY” temporarily due to a family health matter. Sheinelle’s husband of 17 years, Uche Ojeh, died in May at the age of 45 after a battle with brain cancer.
Jones opened up about the loss of her husband in an interview with Savannah Guthrie ahead of her return to “TODAY” in September. She called his death “a beautiful nightmare.”
“We don’t move on, but we move forward with our loved ones,” she said at the time. “I hope that just by me being on the set and me returning to work, it’s like, ‘OK, if I can do it, so can you, right?’
Jones shares three children with her late husband: their eldest son, Kayin, and twins, Uche and Clara.
“Sheinelle has been a cherished member of NBC News for more than 11 years,” Leist and Parkinson-Jones said in the Tuesday statement. “From standout interviews with newsmakers and celebrities to her iconic Halloween performances as Beyoncé and Tina Turner, she has captivated audiences time and again.”
Bush Hager, one of former President George W. Bush’s two daughters, joined “TODAY” as a correspondent in 2009. She began co-hosting the fourth hour of the network’s flagship morning show with Kotb in 2019, following Kathie Lee Gifford’s departure.
