Jenna Bush Hager is no stranger to oversharing when it comes to her personal life and she loves nothing more than detailing anecdotes about husband Henry Hager as well as their three children when she’s presenting Today With Hoda & Jenna.
Jenna, 42, and her cohost Hoda Kotb – who recently revealed her departure from the role – often discuss families and relationships, and even dating, on the NBC morning show and regularly invite viewers to call in with their own dilemmas.
Therefore, Jenna’s love life ends up being discussed from time-to-time and she’s not shy when opening up about her 20-year relationship with Henry, 46, whom she met during her father George W. Bush’s 2004 presidential campaign.
Jenna was just 23 at the time and was living in Washington, D.C., away from her hometown of Texas, but despite meeting Henry in the winter, she’s previously admitted that she couldn’t remember it being cold because she was so loved up.
Speaking on Today back in September 2023, Jenna and Hoda, 60, were discussing Kylie Jenner’s PDA with Timothée Chalamet after a video emerged of them kissing at a Beyoncé concert, when Jenna reminisced about the early days of her own romance and said: ‘It’s like adrenaline – I remember!’
Jenna Bush Hager and her husband Henry Hager celebrated 16 years of marriage in May 2024
The couple, pictured here in May 2006, first met one another during her father George W. Bush’s 2004 presidential campaign
‘I said this to Henry. The first winter that we fell in love, it was the first winter. I did not live in Texas, I lived in Washington. It was cold. I don’t remember it being cold,’ she recalled.
Hoda replied: ‘You don’t remember that?’ to which Jenna responded: ‘I don’t remember cold. I was never cold… I just remember feeling warm inside and loved.’
In 2022, Jenna revealed live on air that Henry once had to sneak out of the White House during the earlier days of their romance.
She explained to Hoda: ‘My parents were traveling and I was staying there. We’d gone out to the bars and, like all relationships do, it reached a certain level.
‘Henry said he woke up [the next morning] and he looked around and he was like, “Aaaaaaaah” because he worked for my dad,’ she continued.
Jenna told Hoda that, at the time, she was thinking: ‘”Well, have fun.” I didn’t care. He said to get out of the White House was as hard to get in! The people that guard the White House aren’t looking to see who’s running – usually, people don’t run out!’
The couple went public with their relationship the following year when they appeared together at a White House dinner for The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall – now King Charles III and Queen Camilla – in November 2005.
After a nervous Henry asked President Bush for permission to marry his daughter, he proposed to Jenna in August 2007 – but this wasn’t exactly the first time they had discussed marriage.
Jenna and Henry pictured here in the early days of their romance during a vacation together
Earlier this year, Jenna’s Today cohost Hoda Kotb teased her about the time she practically proposed to Henry
Jenna once admitted on the Today show a few years ago that she asked Henry to marry her after just three months of dating – but he turned her down because she was too young.
‘After three months of dating — I might’ve had a Christmas cocktail — and we were dancing, and I said, “This is it, I know it, let’s just get married, what are we waiting for?”‘ she said.
‘My sister was like, “Whoa, whoa,”‘ she said of her twin Barbara Bush’s reaction.
Earlier this year, Hoda teased Jenna live on air about the exact same thing as the latter reminisced about when she first met Henry.
‘But you made the first move, so he didn’t have to right?’ Hoda asked as Jenna replied: ‘Exactly,’ before retracting and adding: ‘No, I didn’t really make the first move but kind of… I mean, it was clear.’
‘But you know what I like about you, when you like something or want something, you say it, you don’t hide it, you don’t try to be coy with it, you just say it,’ Hoda commented as Jenna admitted: ‘Yes, but I sort of held back a little bit and kind of kept my options open a little…’
Hoda wasn’t convinced though as Jenna told her: ‘Don’t give me that look!’ as the mother-of-two light-heartedly accused: ‘You did not! You practically proposed to him on date three!’
The happy couple tied the knot in a private ceremony on May 10, 2008, at Jenna’s parents’ Prairie Chapel Ranch, near Crawford, Texas, with the bride opting to wear a beaded organza dress, with a small train, designed by Oscar de la Renta.
Jenna married Henry in a private ceremony on May 10, 2008 at her parents’ Prairie Chapel Ranch in Texas
Jenna looked stunning in her beaded organza wedding dress with a small train, which was designed by Oscar de la Renta
Jenna pictured on her wedding day with her father, former President George W. Bush
They celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary a few months ago, but Jenna previously ruled out ever renewing their vows.
During an episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna in September 2023, Jenna shared that renewing her vows was something that she and Henry had initially planned, although they have since U-turned on the decision.
‘When Henry and I got married, when we went on our honeymoon, we’re like, when we hit our 10-year anniversary, we’ll renew our vows,’ she said.
‘We’ll come back here to renew our vows. Well, we’ve been married 15 years. We never renewed our vows.’
Probing her co-star on the subject, Hoda asked: ‘What do you think about the vow renewal?’
‘I think to each their own,’ Jenna replied. ‘I don’t know that it’s for us. Because I honestly sort of feel like we choose each other every single day in little things.
‘You know, it’s like, how you said, if he says something that’s funny, but slightly irritating, do I choose to laugh at it or do I choose to be grumpy? And it’s like, you have to make that choice every single day.’
A lot has changed since Jenna and Henry said ‘I do’ back in 2008 as the couple are now parents to three children, but one thing that has remained the same is the mattress that the pair sleep on every single night.
The happy couple, pictured here during an appearance on Today in 2012, have been together for 20 years now
Henry and Jenna pictured with their three children – Mila, 11, Poppy, nine, and five-year-old Hal
Earlier this year, Jenna admitted that she and Henry still sleep on the same mattress they bought on layaway when they got married – and claimed it was their ‘biggest investment.’
‘By the way, we bought a bed, Henry and I, the first year we got married,’ she told Hoda. ‘It was a Tempur-Pedic, it was called “The Celebrity Bed.” We’ve had it since we got married. That’s almost 20 years.’
‘But aren’t the indentations too deep?’ Hoda asked as Jenna replied: ‘It probably is, but it was our biggest investment of whatever year it was. We paid it off on layaway. Henry got a pay plan for our mattress.’
These days, the couple no doubt have a lot more furniture as they welcomed their first child, Mila, in April 2013, followed by their second daughter Poppy in August 2015, and then their son Hal four years later in August 2019.
But Jenna was left red-faced when she accidentally referred to her husband as ‘daddy’ live on air in November last year.
The TV host was talking about her son Hal wanting to dress up as Trolls characters Guy Diamond and Tiny Diamond with Henry, when she made the blunder.
‘Hal wants to be baby Diamond and have daddy be… first of all, I just called him daddy on television,’ Jenna said as Hoda started laughing.
‘If all the things you said in your own house you said out loud, people would think you’re crazy,’ Hoda sympathized.
Jenna was left mortified in November 2023 when she accidentally referred to Henry as ‘daddy’ live on air
‘Oh gosh,’ Jenna said with her head in her hands, before she reiterated: ‘I just called my husband daddy. I need to be put in some sort of… Is there like a corner where I can go sit for a few minutes just to think?’
But it’s not the only time she’s said something rather embarrassing when it comes to Henry, as just two months ago Jenna left Hoda stunned when she revealed the bizarre pet name her husband used to call her.
The pair were discussing nicknames and when Jenna asked Hoda if she likes them, she replied: ‘Kind of, like usually… when I’m with… “honey, sweetie, blah blah”… when I was a kid they all called me Hodie, that was my nickname. Do you like a nickname?’
Jenna responded: ‘Yeah, I love a nickname!’ as Hoda added: ‘What does Henry call you?’ to which she revealed: ‘Well, he called me shiny…’ leaving Hoda visibly baffled.
‘Yeah, shiny cat… when we first got together,’ Jenna confirmed before adding: ‘And now he’s just like, “honey, baby…”, and the kids are like, “ew!”‘ before revealing that she refers to her husband of 16 years as ‘Hank.’
However, one nickname that Jenna doesn’t use when it comes to her husband – who is the Managing Director at Waterous Energy Fund – is the term ‘best friend,’ and she even hesitated when Hoda once asked her about it.
The TV stars were debating whether your spouse should also be your closest pal while chatting about a Wall Street Journal article on the topic in September 2023.
‘Is your husband your best friend?’ Hoda asked Jenna, who briefly stuttered before answering the complicated question.
Jenna recently revealed that Henry used to call her ‘shiny cat’ when they first got together
The duo, pictured here in August 2023, made the decision not to renew their wedding vows
‘Uh, love Henry so much,’ she said, laughing. ‘I love him, but… And I do [love him]. Like, yes, he is one of my best friends. I mean, I adore him, and I tell him everything. But I like girlfriends. I love my girlfriends.’
She noted that your spouse is bound to be one of your closest confidants by nature because you live together and see each other every.
‘The definition of best friend is so arbitrary,’ Jenna said. ‘Different friends are closer on different days.’
Hoda then probed Jenna on how often she talks to her husband per day – and she was rather surprised at her answer.
‘I’ve already talked to him today. He calls in the car on the way to school, checks in. We probably talk or text at least 10 times,’ she estimated.
But despite being blissfully happy, Jenna still experiences pangs of jealousy from time-to-time and, in May, she admitted she felt envious of Henry spending time with Hoda.
Recalling a work trip they took to Bermuda back in May, Jenna revealed that Henry had joined them because it was their 16th wedding anniversary and they wanted to wake up together on their special day.
Jenna and Henry pictured on New Year’s Eve with their three kids
Jenna previously said she’s ‘proud’ of the ‘incredible’ life she and Henry have built together
Jenna explained: ‘By the way, my anniversary morning, I peered out the window… my husband was not laying next to me and I thought, “Now where is Henry?”
‘I see he and Hoda frolicking in the ocean together! The two of them, sunrise swimming, and I got a little jealous!’ she admitted as Hoda started giggling.
‘I threw on my bathing suit and I ran and jumped in!’ she added as mother-of-two Hoda confirmed: ‘Yeah, you ran in!’
But despite fleeting moments of jealousy, and previously admitting that she wishes she had ‘dated more’ when she was younger, Jenna is clearly blissfully happy with Henry.
Speaking about her spouse earlier this year, the blonde star said: ‘I’m glad I met the right person early and it’s great and we have built a really incredible life and I’m proud of it.’
