Why You Won't See Jenna Bush Hager At Her Daughter's Volleyball Games

Former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager married Henry Hager in 2008, and the two of them share three children together: Mila, Poppy, and Hal.  From photos on social media and stories that Jenna tells on "Today," they seem like a fairly normal and loving family. And in any family, there are moments of awkward embarrassment. Jenna has actually banned her children from the "Today" show set, but the tables have turned as Jenna has essentially been banned from her oldest daughter's volleyball games.

On an April 2026 episode of "Today with Jenna & Sheinelle," Jenna talked about how much she loves sports and gets into things by yelling, cheering, and even heckling (Jenna did confirm she doesn't heckle the kids as they play). But she did yell something while Mila was playing that put her in time out for future games. "The score was 6 to 7, and I go, 'Six seven!'" Jenna said. For those who aren't in the know, "six seven" was a somewhat inexplicable and yet very popular internet meme/slang term/trend for teens and tweens that cropped up in 2025. And yelling it the way that Jenna did was more a thing for the kids to do, not so much the parents.

Mila, who turned 13 in April 2026, wasn't too impressed with this pop culture reference from her mom. Jenna mimicked the glare that she got from her daughter after that moment, and it wasn't good. What kid, especially at 13, doesn't get embarrassed by their parents a time or two? But it sounds like that was the last straw. "Afterwards, I was frozen out," Jenna said. "I went to one volleyball game this year." 

And it's not just Jenna Bush Hager's oldest child who has some critique of her behavior as a sideline mom. She said she's also been warned not to yell so loud while watching flag football, which her youngest child, Hal, plays. Jenna's children have humbled her before, so it seems like there's a balance in the family now.

A lot of people in the Instagram comments on a post about the story saw themselves in Jenna's situation and how hard it can be to stay contained when you're really into your kid's game. One person wrote, "You're not a real sports mom until you've yelled and been canceled by your child." And others saw the struggle that Jenna was going through: "It's striking a balance of what works for you. My child didn't want the distraction of hearing me cheering so I did so on a quieter level," one said on Instagram.

It sounds like that might be Jenna's goal for the future. She did say that she hopes to return to watch Mila play volleyball, but with some stricter boundaries for herself to keep it more chill in the stands. It could be tricky, as it sounds like getting into sports is ingrained in her; Jenna's enthusiasm for sports started when she was young.  Before her father, George W. Bush, was president, he was a managing partners of the Texas Rangers, and they went to a lot of games.