Today show host Sheinelle Jones is known for her bright personality and professionalism, but behind the scenes, she has endured her own personal struggles.
In a deeply personal essay for Today, Sheinelle revealed that she suffered a devastating miscarriage 12 years ago, a loss that she kept private until now.
As she shares her story, she hopes to bring comfort to other women who have faced similar heartbreak in silence.
A Painful Loss She Kept Private
Sheinelle, 43, is now a proud mother of three children—her 12-year-old son, Uche, and 9-year-old twins, Kayin and Clara, whom she shares with her husband, Uche Ojeh.
But before welcoming her eldest child, she endured a painful miscarriage that left her feeling lost in grief.
In her essay, Sheinelle recalled how the miscarriage happened while she was attending a journalism conference. She was busy networking, moving from table to table in her blazer and heels, all while feeling incredibly sick. Eventually, she miscarried at the event but continued working until a mentor urged her to take a break.
“It took one of my mentors saying, ‘Sheinelle, go back to your hotel room and rest. This is traumatic,’” she recalled.
Despite the emotional and physical pain, Sheinelle took only a few days off before returning to work. She admitted that she felt immense sadness, but like many women, she pushed through her grief in order to keep up with the demands of her career.
“You’re grieving. I remember asking my girlfriend, ‘When is this sadness going to end?’” she shared. “It was so painful, but I think you take the grief and tuck it away somewhere as you move forward in life.”
Reflecting on the Experience Years Later
Now, more than a decade later, Sheinelle says she can barely believe how much time has passed since that dark period in her life. After the miscarriage, she went on to have three healthy pregnancies, and today, she can’t imagine her life without her children. However, she acknowledges that for years, she didn’t fully process the depth of her grief.
“It’s amazing what the mind will do to move forward with grief. I had completely forgotten how dark that time was,” she admitted. “Then I think about all the women who are still stuck in that place of grief, and I just want to help.”
Sheinelle’s decision to share her story now comes from a desire to support other women who may be struggling in silence.
Encouraging Open Conversations About Infertility and Loss
The journalist hopes that by speaking up, she can help break the stigma surrounding pregnancy loss and infertility. She believes that too many women suffer alone, feeling pressured to put on a brave face while privately dealing with heartbreak.
“For so long, I have listened to girlfriends talk about the infertility challenges they battle behind closed doors,” Sheinelle said. “They move forward with their careers, go to church, the gym—all while carrying this painful secret.”
In an effort to shine a light on these struggles, Sheinelle has worked on a documentary titled Stories We Tell: The Fertility Secret, which explores infertility and pregnancy loss. The special aims to create a space for women to share their experiences and support one another through their journeys.
“As a society, we’re doing ourselves a disservice by letting people navigate something so challenging in silence,” she said. “We need to talk about what women are really dealing with.”
A Shared Experience Among Women
Sheinelle is not the only Today host to open up about pregnancy loss. Her colleague, Dylan Dreyer, previously revealed that she, too, suffered a miscarriage.
Dylan recalled her own experience in 2019, sharing how she and her husband, Brian Fichera, were overjoyed to discover she was pregnant with their second child. However, just eight weeks later, she experienced a miscarriage on the morning she was scheduled to go into work.
“To go from that high of finding out we were pregnant to this extreme low—right before I had to go into work—it was like a nightmare come true,” Dylan said at the time.
Like Sheinelle, Dylan initially blamed herself, wondering if she had done something wrong. Eventually, she realized that pregnancy loss is something many women go through, and she, too, chose to share her story in hopes of helping others.
Months later, Dylan and her husband announced they were expecting again, and their second son, Oliver, was born in January 2020.
Breaking the Silence and Offering Support
Sheinelle’s decision to speak out about her miscarriage is part of a larger effort to normalize conversations about pregnancy loss and infertility. Too often, women feel pressure to keep these experiences to themselves, fearing that they are alone in their grief. But as Sheinelle and many others have shown, these struggles are far more common than people realize.
By sharing her story, Sheinelle hopes to give comfort to those who are still processing their own losses. She wants to create a space where women can openly discuss these challenges without shame or isolation.
“I’m not a doctor. I’m not a researcher. But I am a journalist, and I can tell stories,” she said. “And if sharing my story helps even one woman feel less alone, then it’s worth it.”
As she continues to advocate for more awareness around fertility issues, Sheinelle remains committed to using her platform to spark important conversations—ones that have the power to heal and unite.
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