Hoda Kotb Makes Fun of Jenna Bush Hager for Confession

Hoda Kotb’s latest playful jab at Today cohost Jenna Bush Hager left some laughing and others gasping.

During an episode of the talk show on Monday, April 29, Hoda, 59, poked fun at Jenna, 42, for proposing to her husband, Henry Hager. The former first daughter met Henry, 45, in 2004 during her father President George W. Bush’s reelection campaign.

“You made the first move, so he didn’t have to right?” Hoda asked, to which Jenna replied, “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 continued. Jenna replied, “Yes, but I sort of held back a little bit and kind of kept my options open a little.”

Hoda gave Jenna a peculiar look after the comment was made. “Don’t give me that look!” Jenna exclaimed as her cheeks turned red.

It was then that Hoda decided to ruffle some feathers. “You did not! You practically proposed to him on date three!” the Hope Is a Rainbow author exclaimed.

Jenna explained that she was head over heels with Henry right from the start, leading her to pop the question.

“I think that you’ve got to play it … I know that’s an annoying thing, but if you act like you’re all crazy about somebody … if I had proposed [on] date one, that might have been too strong,” she joked.

“But they do say the deal is, is you move in a quarter of the way and let him come three quarters, and then you just old your one quarter,” Hoda said, to which Jenna replied, “Well, I didn’t hold it! I came all in!”

Jenna has shared the story many times about how she initially proposed to Henry and he turned it down.

“I proposed to Henry after several cocktails,” the TV personality said during an episode of Today in August 2023. “I was 22 years old, my sister was standing with us, we were dancing and Barbara just started shuffling backwards. She was like, ‘What is happening here?’ We’d only been dating three months. He told me he loved me and I’m like, ‘Me too! Let’s get married!’”

The pair ended up getting engaged for real in 2007. They got married at the Bush family’s Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas. They are now the parents of kids Mila, Poppy and Hal.