Jenna Bush Hager Recalls Getting a Nepotism Dig From ‘Today’ Colleague

Jenna Bush Hager didn’t get off to the easiest start on Today.

During the Wednesday, August 12, episode of Today With Jenna & Sheinelle, Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones got into a conversation about nepotism while discussing Kaia Gerber and Homer Gere‘s new Vogue cover. (The Shards actors are the children of Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere, respectively.)

Bush Hager, for her part, is the daughter of former President George W. Bush, as well as the granddaughter of the late former president George H.W. Bush. “I was on the show because my dad was president,” Bush Hager said to Jones, who went on to ask, “What was your very first thing on the Today show?”

Bush Hager recalled, “I wrote a book in 2006. I was on the show. And then, my mom [Laura Bush] and I wrote a book, like nine months later, and she guest-hosted the eight [a.m. hour]. And so, I was on, and then, they kept calling.”

Bush Hager said she wouldn’t have had the chance to join Today if not for her status as a former first daughter, as she had no professional TV experience. “I think most people who have parents that [are famous], we have a privilege that we know, and you can own that,” she noted.

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Bush Hager remembered being approached to join Today while she was working as a teacher in Washington, D.C. “As we all know, teaching is the hardest job there is, so, eventually, I took the interview,” she stated.

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The host went on to share a not-so-pleasant memory from her early days on the NBC morning show. “A correspondent said to me, ‘We just thought they hired you ‘cause of your dad.’ That’s everybody’s fear that has this,” she revealed, without sharing the identity of the colleague. “When people say mean things to me, which is online, that’s their thing, and I get it. And it’s the thing that probably all of us can feel bad about. But then, what we do to get over that is work like crazy, work beyond to where we’re working ourselves too much.”

While Bush Hager once felt like she needed to prove herself on screen, she clarified that is no longer the case. “I will say, having three kids, Mila worked this summer. I always worked, and I hope I’m not imparting any sort of transference of that and overdoing it,” she said. “Mila’s 13, and she worked at a school, because she also is interested in kids. But it’s one of those things where it’s like, I feel lucky to be here, and I also feel like I needed to prove it.” (Bush Hager shares three kids — Mila, Poppy, and Hal — with her husband, Henry Hager.)

Jones said the “beautiful” thing about Bush Hager’s Today journey is that fans have watched her “grow” in real time. “And now, you’ve got a show coming on after The Voice on Mondays on NBC! You’re in your boss era!” she exclaimed, referring to Bush Hager’s role as an executive producer on the upcoming NBC series Line of Fire.

Bush Hager returned Jones’ kind words by stating, “I’m in my sitting next to Sheinelle era.”

Bush Hager joined Today as a correspondent in 2009 and later took over Kathie Lee Gifford‘s role as a fourth hour of Today co-host in 2019. Following Hoda Kotb‘s Today exit last year, Bush Hager led the fourth hour, titled Today With Jenna & Friends, with a lineup of celebrity guest hosts. Jones officially took over as her permanent co-host in January.

Today With Jenna & Sheinelle, Weekdays, 10 am, NBC