For a number of months now, Immediately viewers have been expressing concern for Sheinelle Jones.
The beloved host’s ongoing absence started because the present was present process some main retooling.
As you’ve possible heard, Hoda Kotb has stepped away earlier this yr after almost 17 years on the anchors’ desk. And she or he’s been replaced by Craig Melvin, who will now be seated alongside Savannah Guthrie for the present’s “flagship hours.”
Clearly, there’s been a number of protection surrounding these modifications. However Sheinelle’s absence was principally swept underneath the rug.
Sheinelle Jones attends the 2023 Broadcasting + Cable Corridor Of Fame Gala at The Ziegfeld Ballroom on Might 03, 2023 in New York Metropolis. (Photograph by Arturo Holmes/Getty Photos)
The place Is Sheinelle Jones?
If you happen to’re an everyday Immediately viewer, you may need observed that Sheinelle Jones has been lacking from the present since earlier than Christmas.
She missed the weeklong “Hodabration” in Kotb’s remaining episodes, and curiously, Sheinelle’s colleagues scarcely acknowledged her absence on the time.
“Sheinelle is off,” Al Roker briefly defined on January 10 earlier than introducing her momentary substitute, Jill Martin.
Not surprisingly, the scenario has sparked concern amongst followers.
TV personalities Sheinelle Jones and Al Roker attend the nineteenth Annual Publish-Golden Globes Get together hosted by Warner Bros. Photos and InStyle at The Beverly Hilton Resort on January 7, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photograph by Frazer Harrison/Getty Photos)
However on the Monday, April 14 episode of Immediately, co-host Craig Melvin addressed Sheinelle’s absence throughout a dialog with visitor correspondent, Entry Hollywood‘s Emily Orozco
“I simply talked to her a pair days in the past — she’s taking a while to be along with her household and we speak to her on a regular basis,” Melvin said. “We love our woman. It’s been good to see how a lot everybody loves her, too.”
“Precisely,” Roker added. “We’re simply praying for her.”
The hosts added that Sheinelle has been coping with “a household matter.”
“She misses being right here — she misses being right here with us, however she’s doing what she must do,” Dylan Dreyer mentioned, including, “She’ll be again.”
Sheinelle’s Response
Earlier this yr, the 46-year-old issued an announcement through which she defined that she’s coping with “a household well being matter.”
“Hello everyone … I sincerely recognize all of you who’ve reached out whereas I’ve been absent from the present,” Sheinelle wrote on Instagram.
“I wish to share with you that I’m taking time to cope with a household well being matter,” she continued.
“It’s not misplaced on me how fortunate I’m to haven’t solely the assist of my Immediately Present household, however to even have all of you. Your kindness means a lot to me.”
The assertion was learn on the air by Savannah Guthrie.
“We all know so lots of you have got been asking about Sheinelle, and lacking her, and we miss her, too,” unhappy an emotional Savannah mentioned after sharing Sheinelle’s phrases.
“Sheinelle, all of us love you, and we’re so trying ahead to having you again,” Craig Melvin added.
An Outpouring of Concern
The replace follows months through which Immediately viewers expressed every day issues about Sheinelle.
“One other day with out @SheinelleJones on @TODAYshow and no rationalization? What’s going on? We’d like solutions,” an X (previously Twitter person) named Terrace Miller tweeted throughout a current broadcast.
And as Parade factors out, Terrace was not alone in her confusion:
“Not even a recorded piece from @SheinelleJones on the @TODAYshow for @hodakotb‘s final day?! Appears odd. Hope she’s okay,” one other person wrote amid Hoda’s farewell social gathering.
TV character Sheinelle Jones attends the sixtieth Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Sq. Backyard on January 28, 2018 in New York Metropolis. (Photograph by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Photos for NARAS)
“I’m wondering if she received fired or didn’t take a pay minimize or one thing as they don’t point out her. Greatest needs Hoda and finest to Sheinelle hope all is nicely!” a 3rd viewer wrote.
“I beloved the HODA bration however actually puzzled why Sheinelle Jones wasn’t among the many solid?” a fourth particular person requested.
“@TODAYshow can u inform us the place Sheinelle Jones is? So odd she is lacking the #Hoda Okay’s farewell!” a fifth chimed in.
Questions Stay
Sheinelle Jones attends The American Coronary heart Affiliation’s Go Purple For Ladies Purple Gown Assortment 2019 Offered By Macy’s at Hammerstein Ballroom on February 7, 2019 in New York Metropolis. (Photograph by Theo Wargo/Getty Photos for AHA)
Some followers took solace in the truth that this was not the primary time she’s stepped away from Immediately.
Sheinelle took a quick hiatus in November of 2024 in an effort to attend a convention.
“I wasn’t right here Friday, I went proper outdoors of Philadelphia to talk with the Society of Skilled Ladies,” she mentioned upon her return on November 18.
On the time, Jones defined that she “stayed till the very finish and talked to virtually each single one of many girls when it was over. I really like that form of stuff.”
Sheinelle’s assertion will quell a number of fears, however we nonetheless know little or no in regards to the scenario that compelled her to step away. We want Sheinelle and her household all one of the best.
We’ll have additional updates on this creating story as new info turns into accessible.
