Shaynel Jones has spoken out about her sadness following the shocking death of her husband Uche Ojie.
“I don’t think I fully understood what it would be like to be without him,” she told People magazine about her husband, who died of an aggressive brain tumor in May.
“It’s later in life that you really feel the loss.”
Despite her return to television, the “Today” show host urged viewers not to be fooled by her on-screen demeanor.
“When people see me on TV, they think, ‘Oh, she’s better.’ They’re like, ‘Oh, no, no.’ I’m not better. ‘It’s like swimming in mud every day,’ she confessed.
“I’ve really had to work. Empathy is my superpower right now, and I recognize that I have two things: I embrace sadness, and I also harbor this joy,” Jones added.
“I said it months ago and I say it now: I fight for my joy.”
Jones also said her husband always believed in the power of prayer to survive.
“I never thought I would lose him,” she told People magazine. “When you become a woman of faith, you find yourself praying for results, but what if the results don’t come? And that’s when I really dug deep and realized that maybe I just don’t fully understand.
“I know that God loves me, I know that God loves (Uche), I know that God loves my children and our family. So why is this happening? I don’t know if I have the answers yet, but I have a peace that passes all comprehension,” she added.
“This is a Bible verse. It doesn’t mean it gets easier. It doesn’t mean my grief isn’t unbearable.”
Jones, who has son Karen, 16, and twins Clara and Uche Junior, both 13, with Ogier, said she had to remind her three children that the time they spent with their father was “more time than some people get in a lifetime.”
Last May, her colleagues announced that her newscaster husband had sadly passed away from an “aggressive brain tumor called glioblastoma.”
Sources told Page Six that Ogier bravely battled the disease.
While Ogier battled cancer, Jones took a sabbatical from his job at the time as one of the primary co-anchors of the “Today” show and “Today 3rd Hour.”
Despite his personal issues, Jones is making positive progress in his career.
Last month, she was announced as Hoda Kotb’s replacement, joining Jenna Bush Hager as co-host and “forever friend” on “Today with Jenna & Friends.”
