'Today' show's Sheinelle Jones addresses absence after speculation

Sheinelle Jones is addressing her absence from the "Today" show.

The beloved co-anchor of the NBC morning show's third hour has been absent for weeks but announced Wednesday that she is taking break from "Today" to focus on her family. It does not appear that Jones is leaving her longtime position at NBC.

"Hi everybody ... I sincerely appreciate all of you who have reached out while l've been absent from the show. I want to share with you that I'm taking time to deal with a family health matter," Jones said in a post on Instagram Wednesday morning.

"It's not lost on me how lucky l 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," she wrote, signing the note "Love, Sheinelle."

Where is Sheinelle Jones? 'Today' show's Savannah Guthrie, Craig Melvin speak up about absence

On the "Today" show Wednesday, Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin pointed viewers to Jones' Instagram post to let her explain her absence in her own words.

"She posted to Instagram this morning, letting everyone know she has been taking some time off to deal with the personal, family, health matters," Guthrie said Wednesday. "She thanked everyone for their kindness and their concern about her. We know so many of you have been asking about Sheinelle and missing her, and we miss her too."

Melvin told Jones "we all love you and we are so looking forward to having you back."

Jones raised eyebrows when she was absent for the high-profile exit of former "Today" main co-anchor Hoda Kotb, who hosted along Guthrie. The celebrations, dubbed a "Hoda-bration," featured messages from "Today" personalities sans Jones.

Jones shares three children with her husband Uche Ojeh: oldest son Kayin, 15, and 12-year-old fraternal twins Clara and Uche Jr.

Where is Hoda Kotb? Craig Melvin kicks off 'Today' show hosting gig

Jones, a graduate of the esteemed Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, joined "Today" in 2014 after a near-decade at Fox 29 News Philadelphia, where she co-hosted morning show "Good Day Philadelphia" alongside local broadcasting legend Mike Jerrick. She currently co-hosts the third hour alongside Melvin, Al Roker and meteorologist Dylan Dreyer.

She also hosts the popular "Wild Child" segments about baby animals around the world for NBC's "The More You Know" programs. Jones previously took a leave of absence for health reasons in 2020, documenting her recovering from a major vocal chord surgery with People magazine.

She told the outlet that the hour-long procedure left her voiceless for three weeks.

"It's to the point where people at home have no idea what I do just to get ready for a show in the morning," Jones said. "When I get a call that I have to track a story early in the morning, I get up like 30 minutes early so I can do exercises on my throat just so that I don't sound hoarse."

Sheinelle Jones absence comes as Craig Melvin takes helm of 'Today' with Savannah Guthrie

Jones' absence comes amid a new day for "Today." Kotb's last day was Friday, and Jones' third hour co-anchor Melvin was named her replacement in November and kicked off a new "Today" era Monday.

Melvin, a mainstay at the network, will helm the NBC morning show's first two hours alongside longtime "Today" co-anchor Guthrie in a shift that kicked off earlier this week while remaining on the program's third hour.

Melvin began his new role by telling audiences how grateful and excited he was to sit in the host seat.

"You've sat there so many times but this morning is special. Let's go, this is going to be a beautiful ride," Guthrie said to Craig.

"And there's no one I would rather ride with than you, so let's do this," Melvin said.

Contributing: Anika Reed, Taijuan Moorman

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Today' show's Sheinelle Jones addresses absence