“I found this old suitcase, and I unzipped it and it was my wedding dress,” she continued. “I remember, Uche and I took pictures all over the streets of Philadelphia, so the bottom of it is like [dirty].”

And though Sheinelle lamented that she never got the dress preserved, she alluded to seeing the gown “differently” in the wake of Uche’s death.

Indeed, Sheinelle has been candid about navigating her grief since returning to Today in September, a decision she shared has been “healing” for herself and others despite how difficult it has been. 

“People kept saying, ‘You're so strong, you're so strong,’” she told E! News last month. “And I'm just trying to survive, you know? At the beginning, I was just trying to get out of bed. It's like, ‘I have to go to work. So I'm going to get myself out of bed. I'm going to get to work.’”

She added, “You're doing the things that you feel like you have to do and somebody else sees it as strength. And I'm thinking, ‘Am I? Oh, me? I'm strong? Oh, OK.’"

But while Sheinelle knows others have been inspired by her vulnerability, she’s starting to recognize that she can inspire herself, too.

“It's honestly, maybe not until now, that I'm thinking, ‘You know what? Maybe I should celebrate my own [strength],’” she shared. “We don't do that for ourselves, but I'm finally starting to say, ‘You know what? I think I need to give myself some credit here, because it wasn't easy.’”

Read on for a look back at Sheinelle and Uche’s cutest family photos.