Sheinelle Jones, known for co-hosting the 3rd Hour of Today, made an endearing confession on a recent episode of Today with Hoda and Jenna, which she hosted in place of Jenna Bush Hager.
The journalist humorously admitted that she held onto a childhood treasure, her Cabbage Patch Kids doll, until she tied the knot. “Until I got married, Lily Debbie Allen, my cherished Cabbage Patch, was on my bed. My grandma said it was time to let her go once I was married,” shared Jones, 45.
Jones and her college love, Uche Ojeh, walked down the aisle in September 2007. They met at Northwestern University in Chicago, and at the time of their wedding, Jones was 29.
During the show, Jones reminisced about the doll’s significance in her life, saying, “She’s been my companion since childhood!”
The topic arose while Jones and Hoda Kotb, 59, were discussing the peculiar habit of some couples using baby talk in their relationships. Jones expressed her bewilderment at the practice, saying, “Why do that?” She even mimicked a baby talk voice to illustrate her point.
When Kotb inquired if Jones ever used such a tone with her husband, she firmly denied it. “Absolutely not,” Jones emphasized. She added that she doesn’t use common pet names like “honey” or “babe” for Ojeh, preferring to call him by his name.
Jones also mentioned that she and Ojeh generally avoid public displays of affection. “It baffles everyone in my family,” she noted, attributing this to not observing such behavior in her parents. Kotb shared her contrasting experience, recalling a spontaneous romantic moment in a furniture store with a past date.
Jones couldn’t quite relate but did recall one instance of public affection, which interestingly wasn’t with Ojeh. “There was a time I kissed someone else in public when Uche and I had broken up during college,” she recounted.
Jones and Ojeh, whose love story spanned an eight-year long-distance relationship, are now parents to three children: Kayin, 14, and twins Uche and Clara, 11.
Catch Today with Hoda and Jenna on weekdays at 10 a.m. ET on NBC.
