Sheinelle Jones is not going far, but her departure from the third hour of Today was still emotional.
Jones is moving to the fourth hour of the NBC morning show to co-host with Jenna Bush Hager.
On Friday, Jan. 2, Al Roker, Craig Melvin, and Dylan Dreyer raised a glass to say goodbye.
“This will be her final show with us before she makes the move officially on January 12th,” Melvin said.
The co-hosts tossed to clips of their favorite moments of Sheinelle, since she joined the Today family in 2014.
“Here is the deal. We have been fortunate enough to have you with us but we also have been fortunate enough to see the people who have made you who you are,” Roker told Jones before the production team played a video she posted to Instagram in July 2024, showing four generations of women in her family.
Dreyer introduced a video from 2018, when Jones tried to teach her to dance.
“My laughter around you is so genuine and you have just been such an amazing friend to me for so many years. I mean years and years and years,” Dreyer said.
Melvin thanked Jones for bringing a smile to his face on the show, and read a poem he said took him “six hours” to write.
“To my sister in spirit. In the glare of the cameras your light shines through, a sister, a leader, so fearless and true,” he said. “You juggle the chaos. Three hearts call you mom, yet you walk into work with that grace and calm. The stories you tell come straight from the soul, authentic and kind — journalism’s gold.”
He mentioned her strength and grace after losing her husband in May 2025.
“The loss you endured the world also saw, yet still you rise daily, inspiring all. That smile could outshine the studio’s gleam, the spark of resilience, hope and dream,” Melvin continued. “Through laughter and tears, you’ve guided my way. Dear Sheinelle, my sister in spirit, you brighten each day.”
Jones started to cry.
“Oh my goodness, you guys are so sweet. Thank you guys,” she said.
Once she joins the fourth hour of the program, the show will be called Today With Jenna & Sheinelle.
She replaces Hoda Kotb, who left her full-time position at Today after 17 years in January 2025.
Kotb recently told People she left to spend more time with her family after her daughter Hope, 6, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
“She was getting shots — four or five a day — every day for a year. Now she is getting them less frequently because we have some other means to get her what she needs, but there’s a lot to it. Some kids can have sweets and she can’t. If she’s up in the night, we have to take care of her at night,” Kotb said.
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