Sheinelle Jones is hugely missed on the Today Show, and has been in the thoughts of her co-stars and fans during her time off work to deal with a family health issue.
The NBC star has been understandably staying out of the spotlight during this time, and over the weekend, she will be marking her 47th birthday on April 19.
This will no doubt be a bittersweet occasion for the mom-of-three while taking care of her family.
© NBCSheinelle's Third Hour co-stars gave a brief update on the star earlier in April, during a special episode on board the MSC World America cruise ship. During the show, they spoke with Access Hollywood's Emily Orozco, who asked after her.
Dylan Dreyer was sure to reassure Emily that Sheinelle would eventually return to the show, and said she "will be back". She said: "She misses being here — she wishes she was here with us, but she's doing what she needs to do."
© NBCCraig Melvin, meanwhile, told Emily that they are often in touch. "I just talked to her a couple days ago — she's taking some time to be with her family and we talk to her all the time," he said. "We love our girl. It's been nice to see how much everyone else loves her, too." Al Roker added: "We're just praying for her."
After much speculation about where she was after several weeks of absence, Sheinelle took to Instagram to explain why she wasn't at work.
© NBCShe wrote: " "Hi everybody... I sincerely appreciate all of you who have reached out while I've been absent from the show. I want to share with you that I'm taking time to deal with a family health matter.
"It's not lost on me how lucky I am to have not only the support of my Today Show family, but to also have all of you. Your kindness means so much to me. I'll see you soon. Love, Sheinelle."
Sheinelle has been working on Today since 2014 and became an anchor on the Third Hour in 2019.
She is a doting mom to three children, who she shares with husband Uche Ojeh. They are parents to son Kayin, and twins Clara and Uche.
She prefers to keep her children out of the spotlight but occasionally shares photos of them on social media. They also made their debut on Today back in 2023, when they visited the Today Show studios on Bring Your Kids to Work Day. At the time, Sheinelle documented the moment on social media.
© NBC"This is the first time my kiddos have seen me do the show in the studio!" she wrote. "I think it was good for them to see what mommy does every morning. I used to love going to work with my mom … I hope they look back on this day fondly too."
