Shanell Jones kept her late husband, Uche Oger’s brain tumor battle private from “today” and showed viewers on his request for over a year.
The journalist returned to work for the first time on Friday since her partner passed away in May, defending her secrets.
The NBC personality, in particular, told Savannah Guthrie that Ojeh was diagnosed with a diagnosis of “a few weeks ago” when he ran the New York City Marathon in November 2023.
“I know people would say, ‘What?'” Jones said, taking an exaggerated breath. “But I put it on my shoulder and ran the marathon.”
News Anchor took leave from work in December 2024, and the following month revealed that her absence was due to “family health issues.”
News about Ojeh’s death at the age of 45 in May has been broken.
“Some people may be watching, but they say, ‘Why didn’t you share? Why did she hold this so long?” ” Jones admitted Friday. “What I say to you is that Ushu was intensely private.
“I chose the spotlight, but he didn’t,” she continued. “He wasn’t on Instagram. He wasn’t on Facebook. And when he got this diagnosis, he asked me, “I want to treat this personally.”
Jones said Ogier and her three children, Kayan (16-year-old twins Clara and Ushu), have been “very protective” for many years, and have also “protected” and “faithful” it.
“We respected (his most),” she said. “So now I feel comfortable talking.”
Jones expressed his dissatisfaction with people who knew the truth along the way, telling her, “You do a very good job of forging it.”
This “really bothered” the widow, and she applauded Friday.
“I wasn’t forged that,” she insisted to viewers. “My joy is real. I’ve been on TV with this for almost a year. I did a show and jumped into the car during chemotherapy and went with him. My joy was real.
Jones, who married Ojeh in September 2007, went on to explain why she took the holidays when she did.
“I didn’t want to miss it,” she recalled an experience of a “beautiful nightmare.” “I wanted to become stronger, turn around and know that I’ve become stronger, but I didn’t want to be so strong because I missed this blessing right in front of my eyes and missed the beauty of the battle, and I didn’t want to be so strong.”
Jones shed tears at Ogier’s “terrifying” death, saying that despite knowing the ending, he would “repeat” their love story “again.”
Her “heart still hurts,” but she “fights for (her) joy.”
Jones thanked Guthrie and the rest of her colleagues for being “oxygen” both in the tragedy and her return to television screens.
She told the fans, “If you see me now… laugh, have a good time, and you should root me out.”
