Hoda Kotb made the most of her brief return to the Today show by sharing an emotional moment with Sheinelle Jones.
Kotb, 61, appeared on the Tuesday, September 9, broadcast to celebrate a local PE teacher with a workout on the show’s plaza in New York City. Joining her former colleagues outside, Kotb gave Jones, 47, a big hug.
“I just said to Sheinelle, she’s changing lives just by being exactly who she is,” Kotb said before referencing Jones’ recent sit-down with Savannah Guthrie about the death of her husband, Uche Ojeh. “Three of my friends called immediately after you guys were talking and said that they felt forever changed after listening to that conversation.”
She reminded Jones, “You don’t have to make any effort. Just be and you’re doing what you’re doing. I love you.”
In her interview with Guthrie, 53, Jones opened up about her grief for the first time since Ojeh died from brain cancer in May. He was 45.
“It just felt like we always kind of had it,” she said of the pair’s marriage. “And when he was dying, I would say, ‘This sucks, and this is scary, but if you ask me if this was going to be my fate, I would do it all over again.’”
The couple shared son Kayin, 16, and twins Uche and Clara, both 13. Jones temporarily stepped away from the Today show in January to focus on her family, officially returning to her role on Friday, September 5.
“We don’t move on, but we move forward with our loved ones,” Jones said. “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 noted that her “heart still hurts” after Ojeh’s death, but she’s starting to heal. “So if you see me now and you see me laughing, or you turn on the morning show and I’m laughing or having a good time, you root for me … because I’m fighting for my joy,” she added.
While sitting with her fellow Today hosts on Friday, Jones shared her gratitude to her colleagues. “This is the most loved I’ve ever felt,” she said, struggling to hold back tears. “And the kids feel it too.”
Kotb, meanwhile, hosted her final Today broadcast in January after 17 years on the NBC morning show. She initially announced her plans to leave Today in September 2024.
Craig Melvin took over Kotb’s cohosting position with Guthrie, but her seat has yet to be filled on the fourth hour with Jenna Bush Hager. Viewers have seen a wide array of guest hosts throughout the year, from Scarlett Johansson and Taraji P. Henson to Amy Poehler and Matt Rogers.
“Anybody would be so lucky [to work with Jenna],” Kotb said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in January when asked who she wants to see as her replacement. “But to me, the contenders are Savannah. I think she would be great. I think Justin Sylvester is amazing. … Scarlett Johansson crushed it.She said it was her favorite job.”
Kotb also threw her “dear friend” Jones’ name out as an option, saying, “I think she would be good. I feel like it’s whoever clicks great with Jenna.”
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