THAT PHONE CALL CHANGED EVERYTHING! Sheinelle Jones Reveals Hoda Kotb Rang Her the Night Before Her TODAY 4th Hour Co-Host Announcement… and What Hoda Said Left Her in Tears

Nearly one year after Hoda Kotb exited her role at the Today show and Today with Hoda & Jenna, a permanent replacement has been named for the fourth hour of the NBC morning show.

Sheinelle Jones will become Jenna Bush Hager’s official co-host after nearly a year of Bush Hager’s show, Today with Jenna & Friends. Bush Hager has welcomed more than 60 celebrity guest co-hosts over the past year and on Monday, Jan. 12, Jones will step into the role. Their new program will be called, Today with Jenna & Sheinelle.

Following the big news, Jones shared that the night before her big announcement she received a special phone call from Kotb herself.

“Last night obviously, as you guys can imagine, it was an emotional rollercoaster for me and my phone kept ‘zip, zip, zip, zip,’ and I’m like, ‘I can’t talk, Clara’s tapping or dancing,’ and it was Hoda,” Jones shared, explaining that she was at her daughter’s dance recital. “And so I went out to the lobby, we had some time, and I said, ‘Hey,’ And she goes, ‘Don’t say anything just listen.’ ”

What followed was what Jones described as “45 seconds of wisdom that changed me.”

“I’ll give you one part of it,” Jones added. “She said, ‘You’re gonna be doing graduation speeches and all that.’ And she goes, ‘I promise you,’ she goes, ‘let’s remember this moment, you’re gonna talk about how this was a moment that changed your career and it was the best decision, for your kids, for you. Working with Jenna, it’s gonna be better than you could ever imagine,’ ” Jones shared. “And then she was like, ‘Okay, go back in to Clara.’ ”

Jones shared her goals for the show moving forward, saying during the announcement, “The country hasn’t seen a Jenna & Sheinelle. Like, I see a higher purpose in it. I feel like it’s divine, but I actually feel a responsibility in it where we can bring joy, we can bring hope, we can bring comfort. So just as healing as it is for me and fun, I hope we can bring that for people at home.”

Bush Hager agreed, later telling Jones, “I can tell you I’m so excited, everything you said about what we’re gonna build together that can bring hope, that can share friendship. There’s nobody I’d rather sit next to.”

It’s been a challenging year for Jones, whose husband, Uche Ojeh, died of brain cancer in March. She is now raising their three children — Kayin, 16, and twins Clara and Uche Jr., both 13 — as a single mom.

“There was so much joy in our house and we needed that joy,” Jones said of telling her kids. “When I came back from leave, I talked about fighting for my joy. This is what it looks like.”

Kotb exited Today this past January in order to spend more time with her daughters Haley Joy, 8, and Hope Catherine, 6, and to focus on her wellness brand, Joy 101. She’s made numerous appearances on the show since her exit and helped co-host the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade alongside Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker last month.