What To Know
- Sheinelle Jones shared a nostalgic throwback photo from her school days.
- Fans gushed over the Today host’s childhood photo via social media.
- Jones recently opened up on Today With Jenna & Sheinelle about how back-to-school season is different since her husband’s death.
After talking about the back-to-school season on Today With Jenna & Sheinelle, Sheinelle Jones got a blast from the past from her own school days.
“So … we just washed my hair and put it in a ponytail … and I looked in the mirror and saw my 4th grade self,” Jones captioned a Tuesday, August 11, Instagram post, which featured a then-and-now split of her childhood school photo and a recent snap. While Jones no longer has bangs, she looked just like her younger self by sporting a fun ponytail.
“I’m not sure why … but lately I think of that little girl — and I’m so proud of the woman she’s become,” Jones continued. “She’s had a journey — it’s been amazing most days, excruciating some days, and everyday she’s still learning and growing …. Then I found this picture. How perfect. #samegirl (minus the bangs & tv makeup).”
Fans gushed over Jones’ sweet throwback snap in the post’s comments. “That Girl! She still giggles and laughs from her belly, no matter what she has faced, and her joy is contagious,” one fan wrote. “After the kids go to sleep, I unwind by watching you and @jennabhager, and I find myself laughing and laughing. May she continue to find joy every single day, no matter what life brings.”
Another added, “That little girl is so proud of you. And so many of us are. We are all rooting for you (in my Tyra voice lol).” Someone else shared, “The beginning of the Million Dollar Smile.” A different person posted, “Beautiful then and now.” A separate commenter stated, “And in 20 years you’ll be just as proud of the girl on the right.. keep growing my friend.”
One person pointed out Jones’ resemblance to her daughter, Clara, writing, “But that’s Clara.” Somebody else claimed that Jones’ nose “has had work.” Jones replied to the comment by stating, “Ummmm haha that’s a no.”
As she noted in the post’s caption, Jones has been through many personal and professional milestones over the years. The Northwestern University alum got her start in broadcast at local affiliates in Illinois, Tulsa, and Philadelphia before joining the NBC family as a Weekend Today co-host in 2014.
Five years later, she joined Al Roker, Craig Melvin, and Dylan Dreyer as a co-host on the third hour of Today, a role she held until she became Jenna Bush Hager‘s new fourth hour of Today co-host earlier this year.
Off the small screen, Jones wed her late husband, Uche Ojeh, in 2007, and the couple went on to welcome three kids: son Kayin and twins Clara and Uche. In May 2025, news broke that Ojeh had died at the age of 45 after a private battle with brain cancer.
During Tuesday’s episode of Jenna & Sheinelle, Jones admitted that back-to-school season has been more difficult since her husband’s death. “They say that the biggest stressors in life [are] losing a spouse, moving, a new job. … If you take all the things that are really, really stressful, life-changing stressful, I’ve done it or I’m in it within, like, a year period,” she told Bush Hager.
Noting that she spent the summer “trying to recreate what we had so that it could feel like it used to,” Jones added, “I can’t recreate what I had, but I can create new things. And so, that is where I am.”
Today With Jenna & Sheinelle, Weekdays, 10 am, NBC