Hoda Kotb brought her one-of-a-kind charm back to the Today show Tuesday, with an emotional reunion with her longtime on-air peers after leaving the NBC morning show earlier this year to cap off a successful 17-year stint.
Kotb, 61, supported and consoled her longtime colleague Sheinelle Jones, 47, following the tragic death of Jones’ spouse Uche Ojeh at 45 this past May after a battle with brain cancer.
Jones recently spoke about how she’s coping with the difficult time in an on-air interview Savannah Guthrie conducted.
‘I just said this to Sheinelle,’ Kotb said. ‘She’s changing lives just by being exactly who she is.’
Kotb appeared opposite Guthrie, Willie Geist, Jenna Bush Hager, Craig Melvin and Al Roker following her exit from the show nine months ago.
Kotb praised Jones for her candor and perseverance in the wake of her husband’s tragic passing.
Hoda Kotb, 61, brought her one-of-a-kind charm to the Today Show Tuesday, with an emotional reunion with her longtime on-air peers
Kotb supported and consoled her longtime colleague Sheinelle Jones, 47, following the tragic death of Jones’ spouse Uche Ojeh at 45 this past May after a battle with brain cancer .
‘Three of my friends called immediately after you guys were talking and said that they felt forever changed after listening to that conversation,’ Kotb said. ‘So I was saying, you don’t have to make any effort – just be – and you’re doing what you’re doing.’
The Norman, Oklahoma-born TV personality told Jones: ‘So anyway, I love you – that was amazing.’
Jones began working at NBC 11 years ago, and has maintained a regular presence on the Today show in the years since.
Jones took a break from the program last December to support her spouse amid his illness.
The following month, in a January 15 Instagram post, Jones told her Instagram followers she’s been taking ‘time to deal with the family health matter’ without getting into any more detail.
The subject was broached on the May 23 edition of the Today show, as Jones’ colleagues explained that her beloved spouse had died following a brave battle with cancer. Jones said in a subsequent reply on Instagram, ‘Thank you for all your love and support.’
Jones maintained a low profile up until her return to the Today show this past September 5, when she chat with Guthrie about what she had been through in recent months.
In the chat, she described the massive impact her spouse’s passing had on her emotionally: ‘My heart is shattered in a million pieces … the life that I’ve known since I was 19 is no more.’
Kotb praised Jones for her candor and perseverance in the wake of her husband’s tragic passing
Kotb pictured January 10 in NYC as she was honored in leaving the show after a 17-year stint
Jones said that part of her grief was for the three children she shared with her late spouse: Kayin, 15, and twins Clara and Uche, 12.
‘I’ve always wanted kids – I used to dream of having kids,’ Jones said. ‘I used to put pictures up of kids, in my room and my friends would be like, “You’re weird, you don’t know those kids,” and I would laugh.
‘I have three kids of my own now, and they’ve lost their dad and I’m their mom.’
Kotb is mother to two daughters: ‘Haley Joy, eight, and Hope Catherine, six. Her last day working on the Today show came January 10 of this year.
The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon was among the notable names to show up and honor the veteran TV host, presenting her with a framed portrait of the NBC peacock as seen in the hallways of the network’s New York headquarters.
Fallon told Kotb he titled the picture Onward and Upward ’cause you’re getting on the elevator and going up, right?
‘But then I signed it, and then no one can read my writing. My handwriting’s so bad so it looks like it says Osmond and Uptown.’
Kotb praised both Guthrie and Melvin in an emotional segment on the broadcast , saying, ‘Savannah, oh, my God – you’re my person, you’re my person.
‘You know who shows up for everybody? This girl … she’s in the room, she’s always in the room, and I love you.’
