Jenna Bush Hager.Photo: Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Since her dad left the White House in 2009,Jenna Bush Hagerhas spent a lot of time reflecting on some of the funniest moments from her younger years.
The former first daughter turnedTodayshow personality — and her twin sister,Barbara Pierce Bush— were in their 20s while living in 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., navigating dating life all while their father,George W. Bush, served as president.
Bush Hager even began dating her now-husband,Henry Hager, when her father was still in office, after meeting him during the 2004 campaign. Their courtship wasn’t without its funny moments — includinggetting caught after a secret overnight stayin the White House.
Below, some of the most memorable stories Bush Hager has told about her time in the White House.
Henry Hager and Jenna Bush in 2006.REX/Shutterstock
Henry Got Caught After Spending a Night in the White House
On bothWatch What Happens Live with Andy CohenandToday with Jenna and Hoda, Bush Hager has enjoyed revisiting an embarrassing moment for her husband. While she and Henry were dating, she said, he spent the night at the White House — and attempted to sneak out the next morning.
“Henry said he woke up and he looked around and he was like, ‘Aaaaaaaah’ because he worked for my dad,” she toldHoda Kotb. Bush Hager, however, wasn’t concerned. “‘Well have fun,'” she remembered telling her then-boyfriend. “I didn’t care. Bye!”
“My parents were traveling and I was staying there,” she added. “We’d gone out to the bars and, like all relationships do, it reached a certain level.”
“Can you imagine waking up and just being, like, ‘Where am I? What is this strange room?'” she added.
Now married for 14 years, the pair share three children,Mila, 9,Poppy, 7, andHal, 3.
Joyce N. Boghosian/White House Photo
Sliding Down the White House Banisters
While making an appearance on an episode ofThe Dr. OzShowin 2020, theTodayco-host reflected on how she helpedSashaandMalia Obamatransition into life at the White House afterBarack Obama’s 2008 election.
“We saw ourselves in those precious little girls because when our grandfather become president, we were their age,” she said. “So we knew what was magical about the White House.”
“We taught them how to slide down the banister, which I’m sureMrs. Obamaloved,” Bush Hager joked. “We’re so proud of those girls.”
Bush Hager also previously revealed that she and her sister wrote a heartfelt letter to the Obama sisters, reflecting on how far the young women had come.
“Malia and Sasha, eight years ago on a cold November day, we greeted you on the steps of the White House. We saw both the light and wariness in your eyes as you gazed at your new home,” the Bush twins wrote. “The four of us wandered the majestic halls of the house you had no choice but to move in to. When you slid down the banister of the solarium, just as we had done as 8-year-olds and again as 20-year-olds chasing our youth, your joy and laughter were contagious.”
“In eight years, you have done so much. Seen so much,” the women continued, adding, “We have watched you grow from girls to impressive young women with grace and ease. And through it all you had each other. Just like we did.”
Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush.Nathan R. Congleton
Navigating Dating Life with President Dad
Speaking toAccess Dailyin an April 2022 interview, Bush Hager noted how “intimidating” it was for the men she and her sister dated while their dad was in office.
“When Henry first asked me out, I remember him showing up at the White House, and his ears were red, and I was like, “Are you okay?'” she said. “He was so nervous. He was sweaty because … The helicopter — Marine One — was about to land, and he was like, ‘We have got to get out of here, like right now.'”
“It ended up fine, but yeah, there was some pressure that comes with dating a presidential daughter for sure,” she added.
Eric Draper/White House via Getty
Henry’s Bike Ride with the President
Bush Hager has previously offered other glimpses of pressures that came with dating a first daughter, saying in aTodaysegment earlier this year that Henry — then her boyfriend — had a rough go of it when he once went riding with her father, anavid biker.
“One time, this is terrible, but Henry and my dad went biking, when they first — like, this sort of bonding moment — they went mountain biking. And Henry had a Schwinn Twinsky, and dad had a real mountain bike,” she said onToday.
Asked if Henry managed to keep up, Bush Hager was quick to admit that he did not.
She continued: “So Henry’s humiliated, trying to fix his chain that broke on his Schwinn Twin. He starts going down the hill and the Secret Service open the door on Henry and Henry flies in the air and lands. So my dad calls and goes, ‘Hey, J, just want to tell ya, Henry did an okay job. He did get doored, but he’s okay. He’s got some scratches, he might have hurt his arm, but he’s okay.’ "
Afterward, Bush Hager said Henry confided: “I think your dad was trying to kill me.”
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A Haunted Phone Call
The former first daughter is among several former White House residents to ahve said they felt the building was somewhat ominous. In a 2021 interview withKelly Clarkson, Bush Hager said that she and her sister were going to sleep during their college days when they received a mysterious phone call.
“It was in the college days when people would call late. And our phone rang, and I woke up, and all of a sudden we heard like, 1920s piano music coming out of our fireplace,” Bush Hager told Clarkson.
Her mother, former first ladyLaura Bush, later chalked up the story to Jenna and Barbara hearing the voices of Secret Service agents from down the hall.
George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush pose with daughters Jenna (R) and Barbara (L) prior to the wedding of Jenna and Henry Hager May 10, 2008 near Crawford, Texas.Shealah Craighead/The White House
A White House Wedding Reception
As Bush Hager has explained, though, her dad was quietly craving a quieter affair.
“My dad wanted us to elope,” Hager told herTodayco-host Kotb in a 2022 broadcast.
When Kotb asked if it was “because of all the hoopla,” Hager said, “Because it was a pain. He was like, ‘What are y’all doing? Y’all should just elope!'”
The Hagers tied the knot as the sun set on the Bushes’ secluded 1,600-acre Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas. Hager’s dad drove her to the site of the ceremony in a pickup truck. She and Henry exchanged vows before a 4-foot limestone cross and altar — the structure was her father’s idea — which still stands on the property.
source: people.com
