Sheinelle Jones accidentally almost threw away her wedding dress

Sheinelle Jones' wedding dress almost went down in the dumps – literally.

The "Today" show cohost almost threw away her wedding dress while packing up boxes in her basement for an upcoming move, she revealed during her and Jenna Bush Hager's morning show on May 14.

"I started after a while not even wanting to look through boxes, I’m like, just throw it out—if I haven’t seen it in five years, just throw it out," Jones said.

But at the urging of her babysitter, Jones said she changed her tune.

"She's like, 'No, Sheinelle, we have to go through everything,'" Jones said as Hager added, "Imagine if you’d thrown out your wedding dress."

The 48-year-old mother of three married her late husband, Uche Ojeh, in 2007. He died from an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2025.

Sheinelle Jones says she sees wedding dress 'differently' now

In the end, Jones said she did find the gown.

"I found this old suitcase, and I unzipped it, and it was my wedding dress," she said while sharing a video of her taking the dress out of the suitcase.

Jones said she never had the dress preserved despite being encouraged by others to do so.

"So now, obviously, I see it differently. I’m like, 'oh my goodness, I never had it preserved. Do they do that? I guess I gotta— is it too late?'" she said while photos from her wedding displayed on screen.

Many brides opt to preserve their wedding dress after getting married. It usually entails cleaning and boxing the gown to protect against yellowing and sealing out dust and moisture, according to David's Bridal.

Jones also said she found "so many memories, pictures" while moving.

"It’s so hard because you're moving – you're like, do you move all that stuff with you?" Hager added.

Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on X @melinakh and Instagram @bymelinakhan.