Sheinelle Jones Shares How Her 3 Kids Reacted to Seeing Her on the Cover of PEOPLE

Sheinelle Jones shared her children’s reaction to seeing her on the cover of this week’s issue of PEOPLE.

During the Wednesday, Jan. 14 episode of Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, the mom of three, 47, spoke with co-host Jenna Bush Hager about her cover story on this week’s issue of the magazine. Jones, who’s a mother to twins Clara and Uche Jr., 13, and son Kayin, 16, revealed how her kids reacted to seeing their mom on the cover.

“So last night I sat them down. I’m like ‘guys, I have to tell you something,’ ” she told Bush Hager, 44, adding that she didn’t want her children to randomly see the coverage on their way to school in the morning. “They were like, ‘Let’s see it. Let’s see it.’ And I showed it to them, and my little guy’s like, ‘You look good, mom.'”

Jones continued, “And, then they flip through it, and when they see ‘facing loss and fighting for joy’ again, my hope is that they’ll do the same thing.”

The daytime talk show co-host went on to encourage viewers to allow themselves to feel all of their varying emotions without shame.

“And for you at home, whatever you’re carrying, it’s ok to carry two things,” she said.

Jones welcomed her three children with her late husband, Uche Ojeh, who died at 45 in May 2025, after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer called Glioblastoma. Jones and Ojeh wed in 2007, before having their son, Kayin, in August 2009. Twins Clara and Uche Jr. joined the family in July 2012.

Now, nine months after her husband’s death, Jones says she senses him everywhere: in yellow butterflies, in sunflowers, in his tie that she gave to their son before his recent Model Congress event.

“And I know that he knows,” she told PEOPLE of her new gig on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle. “He was rooting for me all along. I owe it to him to keep going.”

As for their three children, Jones wants them to carry their father’s legacy “not with pain, but with power,” she said. “It hurts that this [loss] is happening to me, but it is excruciating that it’s happening to my kids. As a mom you just want to protect them from everything. This was the first thing I couldn’t fix.”

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Although her job can be demanding, Jones has learned how to strike a balance between work and being there for her kids.

“When it’s earlier, they’re still sleeping. I try not to do interviews after 3, so I can pick my kids up at school,” Jones told The Miami Moms. “Earlier in my career I felt like I was losing touch with the kids because I was doing interviews before or after school. And once you have those boundaries, everyone knows.”

She added that when she’s on mom duty, she tries to be “fully present” so her children have her full attention. “When I’m with my kids, I want them to know I’m with them,” Jones told the outlet. “If I’m at a [kid’s sports] game or a show for my daughter, I try to be all in.”