Sheinelle Jones received a special surprise during the first episode of Today with Jenna & Sheinelle on Monday when former Today stars Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford made an unexpected appearance to wish her well.
The journalist, who was seated beside her co-host, Jenna Bush Hager, began to cry when Hoda and Kathie Lee walked out onto the set wearing Team USA jackets, as the former held a fake Olympic torch in a giant wine glass.
The pair exchanged hugs with Sheinelle and Jenna, and sat down with them at the desk to impart some of their morning show wisdom. “Can we just say how awesome you two look together? How amazing this day already is?” Hoda began. “You look so sweet together.”
“I learned from this girl, and then I was scared to go off on my own,” she continued, pointing to Kathie Lee. The pair co-hosted Today’s fourth hour from 2008 until Kathie Lee’s exit in 2019, after which Jenna stepped into the role.
“And then I met this girl,” Hoda said as she took Jenna’s hand. “And I was so proud the day you walked out. I’ll never forget it. And now, you are welcoming this girl.”
The mom of two left Today in January 2025, after 17 years on-screen, to spend more time with her young daughters, Haley and Hope. Jenna welcomed a revolving door of guest co-hosts in 2025, including Michelle Obama, Scarlett Johansson and Halle Berry.
© Instagram/TodaySheinelle teared up at the sweet moment between the show’s current and previous hosts. “First of all, you invented the genre, you really did,” she told Kathie Lee, as the former TV personality joked: “Is Kelly Ripa here?” Sheinelle then shared her experiences of filling in for Hoda on Today in the past. “I would just sit under your head. I’m like, ‘Look, she has melanin too!'”
“I think that we should propose a toast to the most important thing that makes everything work, two words. One is ‘fun,’ and the most important one is ‘sisterhood,'” Hoda said. “May it grow every day as ours did,” Kathie Lee concluded.
© NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal viaSheinelle previously helmed Today’s third hour alongside Craig Melvin, Al Roker and Dylan Dreyer. She first joined the team of Weekend Today in 2014 before moving to the weekday slot in 2019.
When her new role was announced on December 9, Sheinelle revealed the advice she had received from Hoda via a phone call. “[She said] ‘Remember this moment. You’re going to talk about how this was a moment that changed your career, and it was the best decision for your kids, for you,'” she recounted.
© Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty I“She was like, ‘Working with Jenna – it’s going to be better than you can ever imagine. You’re going to love it.'”
Jenna and Sheinelle will be welcoming a slew of special guests on the show in the first week, including Gabrielle Union-Wade, Sarah Jessica Parker, Martha Stewart, SNL star Marcello Hernandez, The White Lotus actor Walton Goggins, and Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Kandi Burruss.
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