The beloved presenter co-hosted TODAY With Jenna & Friends alongside Jenna Bush Hager on Monday, September 22, where she spoke candidly about navigating the highs and lows of returning to work without the man who had supported her for nearly two decades.
“It feels like I was never gone, and then it also feels like it was nine months,” Sheinelle said. “I have this thing inside me when I’m on air — especially on a show like this — where I ask myself, ‘Do I tell them the truth, or do I try to find the light in the truth?’ But this hour, we’re just telling the truth.”
Uche, Sheinelle’s husband of 17 years, passed away in May at the age of 45 after a courageous battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Now in her third week back at work, Sheinelle admitted that the end of her first week was particularly hard.
“We got through the first week of school, the first week I’m back at work — and on Friday when we got home, it was tough,” the mother of three explained. “There was nothing to rally ourselves for. It was just, ‘Oh, this is it — this is life.’ And that kind of sucks.”
She went on to describe how Saturdays were once a time when she and Uche would decompress together.
“Saturday mornings used to be when we’d look at each other and say, ‘Oh my God, what a week.’ That first Saturday, there was no one there — my coach was gone, my life partner. The days after my first week were really tough. This is my new normal now.”
Sheinelle also revealed that being back in the studio has made her question the constant pace she once thrived on.
“I kept taking out my earpiece because everything felt so busy,” she said. “I used to live for the go-go-go-go-go, but now I don’t know if people are supposed to keep doing one thing after another like that.”
During the conversation, she referenced a piece of wisdom she learned from former TODAY co-anchor Hoda Kotb — the importance of scheduling time to care for yourself.
“When Hoda first told us she’d block off time in her calendar just to take a walk or do something for herself, I thought, ‘Yeah right,’” Sheinelle admitted. “Now I get it. Whether it’s taking a two-hour flight just to sit on a beach or simply going to get my nails done — I have to carve out that calm.”
Jenna, visibly emotional, told Sheinelle she had never met anyone stronger than her.
Sheinelle then shared a moment that moved her deeply — when Jenna sent her the song “Brighter Days” by Blessing Offor. As the track played in the studio, Sheinelle softly recited the lyrics, including the line: “I swear that love will find you in your pain.”
“I listened to that song over and over,” she said. “Because the idea of love finding you in your pain — that’s what this is. That’s what my friends, my family and even the viewers have given me.”
“Love is finding me in my pain,” Sheinelle added. “And that’s what sustains me.”
