Forget about “Today with Jenna & Friends” and get ready for “Today with Jenna & Sheinelle!”
Sheinelle Jones will be Jenna Bush Hager’s permanent co-host on “Today with Jenna & Friends” almost a year after Hoda Kotb’s departure, Variety confirmed Tuesday.
Jones, who has been a part of the franchise since 2014, regularly appears on the show during the third hour, but will now move to the fourth hour segment alongside Hager.
Kotb, 61, announced she would be departing NBC after 26 years in September 2024.
At the time, the news anchor, who is the mother of daughters Haley, 8, and Hope, 6, shared that it was time for her to “move on.”
She officially left the NBC network in January.
As of March, Page Six heard from an insider that NBC wasn’t “close to naming a permanent co-host” despite celebrities expressing their interest.
Jones, meanwhile, returned to the “Today” show in September after taking a months-long leave when her husband, Uche Ojeh, died from brain cancer in May.
During a pre-taped interview with Savannah Guthrie, she talked about how Ojeh’s death left her “heart shattered into a million pieces.”
“It’s day to day. I’m proud of myself for how I’ve coped so far. I’m proud of my kids for how they’ve been able to try to pull through,” Jones, 47, said.
“There are times where if I could just stay in bed … it would be amazing, but I can’t do that because I have three little beings who are watching me,” she added, referring to her kids: Kayin,16, and 13-year-old twins Clara and Uche.
Later that month, the mom of three gave a glimpse into her transition back into the workforce, explaining that weekdays are easier than weekends due to having a packed schedule.
“Saturday morning for me was tough,” Jones explained. “Saturday is when [me and Ojeh would] look at each other and [say], ‘Oh my God what a week.’”
“It was usually like, ‘Oh my God, that interview on Tuesday, I should have said this. Or what about this?’” she continued.
