Today’s Sheinelle Jones Details “Fighting” for Her Joy 9 Months After Husband Uche Ojeh’s Death

Sheinelle Jones is trying her best.

Seven months after the Today With Jenna & Sheinelle co–host’s husband Uche Ojeh died at 45 following a battle with glioblastoma, she shared insight into navigating her grief journey. 

“People see me on TV and they think ‘Oh, she’s better,'” Sheinelle—mom to her and Uche’s kids Kayin,16, and 13-year-old twins Clara and Uche—told People in an interview published Jan. 14. “It’s like, ‘Oh, no no. I’m not better.’ Every day, it’s like swimming through mud.”

“Even just to do normal things, to get up and brush your teeth, go to work, have the kids go to school, get dinner on the table, whatever it is, doing that when you’re grieving is very difficult,” she continued. “I really had to do that work. I recognize that I hold two things: I hold my grief and I also hold this joy. I said it months ago, and I’ll say it now: I am fighting for my joy.” 

For Sheinelle—who recently joined Jenna Bush Hager to headline the show’s fourth hour—her coworkers have been among her biggest supporters.