Uche Ojeh, the husband of “Today” show co-host Sheinelle Jones, has died at the age of 45.
The heartbreaking news was announced on Friday’s broadcast by her colleagues. Jones and Ojeh were married for 17 years.
“With profound sadness, we share this morning that Uche Ojeh, the husband of our dear friend and ‘Today’ co-host Sheinelle Jones, has passed away after a courageous battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma,” host Savannah Guthrie shared.
Guthrie continued to say that “there are no words for the pain” that she and the rest of the staff are experiencing for Jones’ family, including her three children.
“Uche was an incredible person. We all loved him,” Guthrie added.
The couple were married in September 2007 in Jones’ hometown of Philadelphia after meeting while students at Northwestern University in the late ’90s. She was 19 years old, and he was 17 years old when they met. Ojeh is remembered for being an “enthusiastic soccer player” with a successful career in consulting, but family, friends and his “unabiding faith was always his true north.”
“One thing he always talked about, he talked about those kids,” co-host Craig Melvin said. “He loved those kids more than anything else in this world. He was that dad that was on the sidelines at every soccer game. He was at all of the concerts and the recitals. He was that guy.”
On Friday, Jones shared the show’s tribute to her husband on Instagram, writing simply, “Thank you, for all of your love and support.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, there is no cure for glioblastoma, and its cause often isn’t known.
