Uche Ojeh, ‘Today’ show anchor Sheinelle Jones’ husband, dies of brain cancer
Jones and Ojeh were college sweethearts at Northwestern and married in 2007. Their wedding took place at Rittenhouse Square’s Church of the Holy Trinity.
Philly native and Today show cohost Sheinelle Jones’ husband, Uche Ojeh, has died from an aggressive form of brain cancer.
The news came Friday morning when Jones’ NBC cohosts announced it on-air. He was 45.
“There are no words for the pain that we feel for Sheinelle and their three young children,” said Savannah Guthrie, who was alongside Craig Melvin, Al Roker, Carson Daly, Dylan Dreyer, and Jenna Bush Hager. “We just want to say Sheinelle, Kayin, Uche, and Clara and the Ojeh family: We are with you, we love you. You are our family and we’re just sending all of our love to you right now.”
Ojeh, whose full name was Uchechukwuka Adenola Ojeh, and Jones were married for 18 years. They share three children, son Kayin, 15, and fraternal twins Clara and Uche, who are 12. Before joining Today in 2014, Jones spent over nine years with Fox in Philadelphia, including as a cohost for Fox29’s Good Day Philadelphia.
“We can’t imagine what they may be going through, but we want to send out love, and we know the Philadelphia community and the Good Day family are going to be sending love and our prayers as well,” Good Day Philadelphia‘s Alex Holley said in a statement on Friday.
Jones and her family are beloved by the Philly community. She was born in the city, and her family lives here, including her father, U.S. District Judge C. Darnell Jones. After smaller stints in Midwestern markets, Jones landed back in Philly in 2005 to begin her work with Fox 29.
In 2012, while pregnant with twins, she spoke with The Inquirer about the juggling act of being a working mom — especially in a job with extremely early hours and a need to be “camera-ready” and very perky.
“That’s the big challenge … juggling everything, being a mommy and being awake,“ Jones said then. ”Moms do it every day. We’re all going a mile a minute.”
Jones and Ojeh were college sweethearts at Northwestern and married in 2007. Their wedding took place at Rittenhouse Square’s Church of the Holy Trinity and was covered by The Inquirer.
» READ MORE: The wedding of Sheinelle Jones and Uche Ojeh
The Today show described Ojeh as an enthusiastic soccer player, church choir singer, and devotee to his Nigerian heritage, which he instilled in their children.
Around mid-December, Jones stepped back from her Today show appearances. She addressed her absence in January with an Instagram post, citing a “family health matter.”
Ojeh was battling an aggressive brain cancer called glioblastoma, which grows rapidly and takes over brain tissue, according to the Mayo Clinic.
For years, Ojeh, who worked as a consultant for companies like IBM and Accenture before going private, was highlighted as a public and private fixture in Jones’ life and happiness. On Instagram, Jones would post tributes to the husband and father.
As noted by Today, Ojeh was standing at the finish line waiting for Jones when she ran her first New York City Marathon in 2023.
“He loved those kids more than anything else in this world, and was just so proud,” said Melvin in Friday morning’s announcement. Melvin was a close friend of Ojeh. “He was that dad that was on the sideline of every soccer game. He was at all of the concerts and the recitals. He was that guy.”
On Instagram, Jones reposted the Today show’s tribute and thanked her followers for their love and support.