Today host Sheinelle Jones has navigated a trying time in the year since her husband, Uche Ojeh, died after battling brain cancer.
“This year, everybody knows, has been a lot for me,” Jones, 47, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, April 15, during the launch event for her Through Mom’s Eyes book held at Double Knot NYC. “It’s been an emotional roller-coaster.”
Jones and Ojeh, who met in college, were married for 18 years before his death in May 2025. Ojeh, who was 45, is survived by Jones and the couple’s three children: son Kayin, 16, and twins Clara and Uche Jr., 13.
“I would love for them to see me as resilient, strong,” Jones told Us of her kids. “[Matthew McConaughey’s mom] Kay McConaughey told me to not ever lose my humor, and so I want them to know that we have to hold two things these days: We’re grieving, but their dad pushed their mom to write this book, and mom kept her promise, and here we are.”
Jones began writing Through Mom’s Eyes in 2020, speaking with several celebrity mothers about their lives and parenting advice. Jones also touches on the importance of faith in the book.
“When I set out to do this series, I just wanted advice, you know, diapers or no diapers, or, should I do chores or not? Sibling rivalry, divorce, like, all of those things,” Jones said on Wednesday. “It’s certainly that, but I completely underestimated how much I would just be in awe of these women and most of them talk about times where, when times were hard, they had to lean on their faith.”
She continued, “It was one of the common threads. It’s not something we all talk about every day. There are a lot of women who lean on their faith for comfort, and I thought it was time to share it and let people know.”
Jones had been inspired by Ojeh to complete Through Mom’s Eyes, which she noted in the acknowledgements.
“There were so many good chapters. He loved the chapter on Venus and Serena [Williams] with [their mom,] Oracene Price,” Jones recalled of Ojeh’s favorite book snippets, also noting that he enjoyed the journalist’s interviews with the moms of Kevin Durant, Thomas Rhett and Jessica Simpson. “They are moguls, and we should give them credit. I mean, it seems like every mom I interviewed had, kind of, a different wisdom. I just put it all in a book. It’s, like, a love letter to all the women who nurture us.”
Jones further shared that her hope is for readers to gift Through Mom’s Eyes to the women in their lives.
“My pie in the sky dream is that, you know, women will gift it to the aunties, to the teachers, to the Sunday school teachers, to the coaches, to the grandmoms and moms and all the folks,” she said. “Then we start to have this conversation about this rewarding, challenging journey that we’re all on.”
Through Mom’s Eyes is out now.
