Hoda Kotb understands grief intimately. As a breast cancer survivor and former war zone correspondent, she has faced heartbreak and loss in many forms. Yesterday, after the funeral of her former co-worker Sheinelle Jones’ husband, Hoda posted a poignant message to her 2.7 million Instagram followers about grief.
“Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love,” the post, written by Jaimie Anderson, read. “It’s all the love you want to give, but cannot. All the unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.”
It was a beautiful message on a deeply sad day. Sheinelle’s husband, Uche Ojeh, died on Friday, May 23 of brain cancer. He was only 45. Hoda, along with Jenna Bush Hager, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, and Craig Melvin, attended the funeral on Friday, May 30.
The TODAY show team loved Uche deeply.
“There are no words for the pain we feel for Sheinelle and their three young children,” Savannah said through tears during the announcement of Uche’s death. “[He] was an incredible person. 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.”
Sheinelle, who hosts the third hour of TODAY, has three children with Uche: Kayin, 15, and 12-year-old twins Clara and Uche.
Craig Melvin reflected on Uche’s devotion to his family: “One thing he always talked about, he talked about those kids. He loved those kids more than anything else in this world and was just so proud. He was that dad that was on the sidelines of all the soccer games. He was at all the concerts and the recitals. He was that guy.”
After the announcement of his death, Sheinelle shared the segment to her Instagram, writing: “Thank you, for all of your love and support.”
Though Hoda no longer works at TODAY, she continues to be a guiding voice for many. She captioned her Instagram post: “If you are missing someone today.” And on a day like this, the ache of missing Uche was overwhelming for many.
© Getty ImagesThese days, Hoda cherishes time with her two daughters, Haley, 8, and Hope, 6. Since leaving her role on the TODAY show in January, she has focused on family, traveling, and enjoying the simple moments with her girls – like school drop-offs, playdates, and bedtime stories. These little moments matter even more after an emotional day like this.
In moments of heartbreak, Hoda showed us that grief is, in fact, love.
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