Sheinelle Jones supported by ‘Today' colleagues at husband's funeral
'Today' stars Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Deborah Roberts, Jenna Bush Hager, Hoda Kotb, and Craig Melvin were all seen attending her husband's funeral in New York on Friday, May 30, just one week after announcing his death.
Uche Ojeh — full name Uchechukwuka Adenola Ojeh — passed away on May 23 after losing his battle with brain cancer. He was 45.
13 Sheinelle Jones outside of her husband's funeral on Friday, May 30.
William Regan
13 Jenna Bush Hager, Craig Melvin, Deborah Roberts and Hoda Kotb seen exiting the funeral.
William Regan
Wearing a black form-fitting dress and tasteful hat, the grieving widow was photographed exiting the church with her 'Today' colleagues trailing behind.
Everyone appeared emotional, with Melvin holding a Kleenex in his hand on the way out.
Bush Hager stood behind him somberly, holding what appeared to be a funeral program while Kotb, Roberts and Roker were pictured behind them.
Last week, Guthrie, 53, was given the difficult task of announcing Ojeh's death on air.
13 Al Roker outside the church following the funeral.
William Regan
13 Savannah Guthrie leaving Uche Ojeh's funeral.
William Regan
13 Uche Ojeh passed away at age 45.
William Regan
'With profound sadness, we share this morning that Uche Ojeh, the husband of our friend and Today co-host Sheinelle Jones, has passed away after a courageous battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma,' she told viewers at home.
'There are no words for the pain we feel for Sheinelle and their three young children. Uche was an incredible person,' Guthrie continued. 'We all loved him. And so we want to take a moment to tell you more about the remarkable man who was Sheinelle's perfect partner in life.'
13 Another shot of Al Roker after the funeral.
William Regan
13 Savannah Guthrie exiting the funeral.
William Regan
Sources told The Post at the time that Ojeh put up a 'brave fight' and was in hospice before his passing.
His death came months after Jones revealed she was stepping back from the third hour of 'Today' for an extended time, only citing a family matter.
'I sincerely appreciate all of you who have reached out while I've been absent from the show. I want to share with you that I'm taking time to deal with a family health matter,' she wrote via Instagram.
13 Sheinelle Jones with her husband Uche Ojeh.
sheinelle_o/Instagram
13 The couple shared three children.
Instagram/@mariashriver
13 Uche Ojeh died on May 23 after a battle with brain cancer.
sheinelle_o/Instagram
'It's not lost on me how lucky I am to have not only the support of my 'Today' show family, but to also have all of you.'
On Wednesday, two of Jones' co-stars revealed how they were helping her through this horrible time.
'She's such a close friend to me and I still don't have the words. I don't know what to say,' Dylan Dreyer told Us Weekly. 'I've reached out. I don't want to push too hard. There's just a lot of things that she must be juggling right now. I mean, I don't know the right words besides, 'I'm here. Whenever you need a hug, let me know. I'll be there in a second.' And, I mean, I pray for every night.'
13 Her 'Today' show hosts delivered the news of his death on air.
Instagram/@mariashriver
13 Sheinelle Jones with kids Kayin and twins Clara and Uche.
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images
13 The pair married in 2007.
Sheinelle Jones/Instagram
Roker also addressed being there for Jones.
'We tend to say, 'Oh, I know what you're going through. I know what you're feeling.' Nobody knows unless you've actually been in that,' he added. 'So, we're there. We just want to be there and pay tribute to the wonderful person that Uche was and still will be because he's going to live on in those kids and live in all our memories.'
Jones and Ojeh married in 2007. They share three children: 14-year-old Kayin and 12-year-old twins Clara and Uche.
Jones spoke out shortly after her husband's passing, telling her followers, 'Thank you, for all of your love and support.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tobey Maguire files for joint custody of son
Tobey Maguire has filed for joint custody of his son and Jennifer Meyer's son Otis. Nearly 10 years after the pair announced their split, Tobey – who also shares daughter Ruby, 18, with Jennifer – has filed a response to Jennifer's initial divorce filing from 2020, requesting joint legal and physical custody of their 15-year-old son. According to Us Weekly, he has also asked for child and spousal support 'to be determined through private mediation'. Tobey, 50, and Jennifer, 48, tied the knot in Hawaii in 2007, four years after they first met. They announced their split in a joint statement in 2016, saying: 'After much soul searching and consideration, we have made the decision to separate as a couple. As devoted parents, our first priority remains raising our children together with enduring love, respect and friendship.' Jennifer only filed for divorce four years later, with Tobey's response coming this month. The pair have maintained a close friendship following their split, with Jennifer previously telling Us Weekly: 'He's my best friend. He's the greatest ex-husband a girl could ever have. 'The day begins with the kids and ends with the kids. So, you manage to get your time in and work hard in the middle, you know? They're really amazing kids, so we figure it out together. It just manages to work out really well.' Speaking on The World's First Podcast in 2022, Jennifer – who got engaged to Geoffrey Ogunlesi last year - said: 'I can't even explain. I would literally do anything in the world for Tobey. He is my brother. I love him to death, and we have the most beautiful family.
New York Post
6 hours ago
- New York Post
Kim Cattrall seemingly reacts to ‘And Just Like That' ending — as ‘Sex and the City' franchise closes after 27 years
Samantha Jones has entered the chat. Kim Cattrall, who played Jones, the sex-positive public relations boss in 'Sex and the City' for decades, has seemingly responded to the news that its HBO spinoff 'And Just Like That' is ending after three seasons. The closure of the reboot marks the end of 'Sex and the City' after 27 years. Advertisement 12 Kim Cattrall appeared to hint at the end of 'And Just Like That' shortly after Michael Patrick King and Sarah Jessica Parker made the surprising announcement. Kim Cattrall/Instagram 12 Kim Cattrall shared this on Instagram after it was announced that 'And Just Like That' was ending after three seasons. Kim Cattrall/Instagram Cattrall hinted about the end after taking to her Instagram shortly after the spinoff's showrunner, Michael Patrick King, and the franchise's star, Sarah Jessica Parker, made the announcement. Advertisement Posting clear waters with a gorgeous sunset, Cattrall made her first post since the 'And Just Like That' news broke. 'It's the end of a very long week ❤️💋,' the actress wrote. Although she did not join her original co-stars Parker (Carrie Bradshaw), Cynthia Nixon (Miranda Hobbes) and Kristin Davis (Charlotte York) for the reboot following an alleged feud with Parker, Cattrall did make a brief solo appearance at the end of Season 2. Her absence was felt by fans everywhere and was a huge miss for the series. Advertisement 12 Kim Cattrall during Paris Fashion Week on March 5, 2025, in Paris, France. WWD via Getty Images 12 Kim Cattrall at the Dorchester Hotel on December 1, 2024, in London, England. Hoda Davaine/for Perfect Cattrall starred as the sexpot Samantha in the original series from 1998 to 2004. She reprised the fan-favorite role alongside Parker, Nixon and Davis in the 2008 'Sex and the City' movie and its 2010 sequel. 12 Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall and Cynthia Nixon during Season 3 of 'Sex and the City.' Getty Images Advertisement 12 Kristin Davis, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Jessica Parker during a scene from 'Sex and the City.' Getty Images Despite failing to return as Samantha for 'And Just Like That' beyond a single, brief cameo, Cattrall still spoke highly of the role earlier this year during an interview with The Times. 'I created a fantastic character that I loved, and I put a lot of love in it,' she told the outlet in June. 'And if I'm remembered only for that, then that's really OK.' As for Cattrall's former co-stars, they each took to social media following the news that 'And Just Like That' would not be returning after Season 3. 12 Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall and Kristin Davis in the movie 'Sex and the City 2' (2010). ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection 'Carrie Bradshaw has dominated my professional heartbeat for 27 years. I think I have loved her most of all,' Parker, 60, wrote on Instagram. 'I am profoundly sad,' Davis, also 60, said in an Instagram post of her own. 'I love our whole beautiful cast and crew. 400 artisans working hard on our show with deep love.' Nixon, 59, wrote that she 'couldn't believe' the 'Sex and the City' spinoff was officially coming to an end. Advertisement 12 Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw in 'And Just Like That.' HBO 12 Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis during Season 2 of 'And Just Like That.' MAX 'It has been such a delight from start to finish,' she said on Instagram alongside several behind-the-scenes photos and clips. 'I will miss working with these people everyday SO incredibly much but know we will always be a part of each other's lives.' The spinoff's showrunner, meanwhile, insisted that the show wasn't canceled. Advertisement While announcing the end of 'And Just Like That' on Friday, King explained why the show will not continue beyond a two-part series finale later this month. 12 Creator Michael Patrick King announced that 'And Just Like That' is ending after its current, third season. AndJustLikeThat/X 'And just like that… the ongoing storytelling of the' Sex And The City' universe is coming to an end,' he said. 'While I was writing the last episode of 'And Just Like That…' season 3, it became clear to me that this might be a wonderful place to stop.' But canceled or not, the reboot's ratings had been steadily dropping from season to season. Advertisement Plus, some critics claimed that the show had become 'insufferably woke' – particularly with Miranda's non-binary love interest, Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez). 'Che seems like they are a manifestation of… an irritating Twitter account come to life,' one viewer told The Post after the first season aired. 12 Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis and Kim Cattrall during the beginning of 'Sex and the City.' Getty Images 12 Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon during Season 3 of 'And Just Like That.' HBO Advertisement 'Che Diaz single-handedly set back non-binary representation 70 years,' another critic complained. Comedian Bobby Lee, who played the role of Jackie Nee in the first two seasons, also claimed last month that the spinoff suffered from 'woke elements.' 'Some of the woke elements of the show, they got rid of, and I think I was a part of that,' he said. However, insiders speculated that the series was most likely cut because it was simply becoming too expensive.
Los Angeles Times
7 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Paula Deen abruptly closes restaurant that launched her to celebrity chef status
In the late 1990s, Paula Deen was an independent restaurateur whose family-operated restaurant had just received a glowing review from USA Today. Her life and career were permanently changed. Now, over 25 years later, the Georgia native has announced the closing of the Lady and Sons — the iconic restaurant that made her a star of Southern cuisine and a household name in the cooking world. Opened in downtown Savannah, Ga., in 1996, the Lady and Sons boasted a menu of local classics like fried green tomatoes, banana pudding and hoecakes. The signature dish, Southern fried chicken, was enough to draw lines wrapping around the block — and the restaurant came to be viewed as an embodiment of the indulgent and buttery flavors that characterize Southern cooking. 'There in Savannah, Paula Deen's homestyle Southern menu at the Lady and Sons turned me into a ravenous beast, unmindful of manners, cholesterol, North-South diplomacy and the dropped jaws of my companions,' USA Today, then the nation's most-read daily newspaper, wrote on Dec. 17, 1999. Earlier that year, the popularity of the Lady and Sons caught the attention of Food Network journalist Gordon Elliott. Deen appeared on Elliott's short-lived show 'Door Knock Dinners' that led to her own Daytime Emmy-winning Food Network program, 'Paula's Home Cooking.' On her website and social media accounts, Deen bid farewell to the Lady and Sons and its longtime fans. Also closing is her newer restaurant, the Chicken Box, which opened in 2023. 'Hey, y'all, my sons and I made the heartfelt decision that Thursday, July 31st, was the last day of service for The Lady & Sons and The Chicken Box,' Deen said in the statement. 'We will now focus our attention on the four Paula Deen's Family Kitchen locations across the country.' The announcement came without warning, especially as the restaurant continued to draw tours and lines of customers. Three weeks prior to the announcement, the Lady and Sons posted on Instagram that it was hiring for all positions. Over the years, some of Deen's other restaurants have also closed suddenly. In 2014, employees at Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House — a Savannah eatery she co-owned with her brother, Earl W. 'Bubba' Hiers Jr. — reportedly arrived to work to find the doors locked and the appliances removed. A sign on the door said, 'Thank you for 10 great years. Uncle Bubba's is now closed.' The Panama City, Fla., location of Paula Deen's Family Kitchen also closed abruptly in 2019, laying off 30 employees without advance notice. Several former employees told local news channel WJHG that they were left without their main source of income following the closure. Uncle Bubba's closure came a year after controversy began to surround Deen after a former manager at the restaurant sued Hiers, alleging sexual and racial discrimination. Food Network canceled 'Paula's Home Cooking' after Deen admitted to using a racial slur during a deposition for the 2013 lawsuit. Lawyers asked Deen if she had ever used the N-word, to which Deen replied, 'Yes, of course,' later adding, 'It's been a very long time.' Since then, the 78-year-old has focused on her restaurants. The Lady and Sons, as her core establishment, was the result of a litany of personal struggles and ambition. Both of her parents passed away when she was in her early 20s and Deen, then a young mother, struggled with depression and agoraphobia, or fear of going outside. With only $200 left, Deen founded a catering company out of her kitchen called the Bag Lady. Her handmade bag lunches were delivered by her sons Jamie and Bobby and earned Deen a local reputation for her homestyle cooking. After one attempt at a restaurant, the Lady in 1991, the follow-up, the Lady and Sons, co-owned with Jamie and Bobby, would be her success.
