Why Is Sheinelle Jones Absent From ‘Today’ This Week? Find Out Who’s Filling In

Sheinelle Jones is following up Today With Jenna & Sheinelle‘s Jamaica shows with some time off.

Jones was absent from Jenna & Sheinelle‘s Monday, March 30, episode. Actor and comedian Matt Rogers stepped in to co-host alongside Jenna Bush Hager, while Sunday Today‘s Willie Geist will guest-host with Bush Hager for the remainder of the week.

“Sheinelle is off,” Bush Hager announced at the top of Monday’s episode. Rogers, for his part, said he was “so happy” to be back on the fourth hour of Today. Rogers is no stranger to Today viewers, as he previously co-hosted several episodes of the fourth hour of Today with Bush Hager.

Following Hoda Kotb‘s Today exit in January 2025, the NBC morning show’s fourth hour relaunched as Today With Jenna & Friends. Both Rogers and Geist were among the series’ ever-changing lineup of celebrity guest hosts.

Jones returned to Today in September 2025 after taking several months off from the show amid her late husband Uche Ojeh’s private battle with brain cancer. She made her Jenna & Friends co-hosting debut that same month, and was named as Bush Hager’s permanent co-host that December. The fourth hour relaunched as Jenna & Sheinelle in January. (Ojeh died at the age of 45 in May 2025.)

Monday’s episode marked Roger’s first time back in the co-host chair since Jenna & Sheinelle premiered. “I feel like I’m back home,” he stated, to which Bush Hager replied, “We love it when you’re here.”

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Rogers went on to ask why Jones was missing from the show this week. “Is it spring break for the kids?” he questioned. Bush Hager confirmed his suggestion, stating, “It’s spring break, so she has some time off.” (Jones and Ojeh shared three kids — Kayin, Clara, and Uche.)

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Later in the episode, Bush Hager stopped Rogers mid-conversation after noticing something wrong with his chair. “You guys, I’m just realizing something. Sheinelle has a higher seat than me,” she pointed out. Bursting into laughs, Rogers quipped, “Am I way up North? I’ve grown larger since I’ve been here.”

Bush Hager, for her part, joked, “I’m like, ‘God, Matt got tall!’ I’m like, ‘Matt, his torso got extended!’ It’s ‘cause you’re sitting in Sheinelle’s special tall chair.”

Rogers made the most of the funny situation by offering a solution to their height difference. “But, you know, I like to give a lean,” he said while causally leaning back in the chair. “I look really at home here.”

Jones’ absence comes two weeks after Bush Hager took off the week of March 16 to enjoy spring break with her own family. She returned to the show on March 23. Jenna & Sheinelle aired prerecorded episodes the following two days before returning with new episodes set in Jamaica on Thursday, March 26, and Friday, March 27, the latter of which was also prerecorded.

Today With Jenna & Sheinelle, Weekdays, 10am, NBC

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