Jenna Bush Hager's Most Uncomfortable On-Air Moments

Before she joined the "Today" family as the co-host of the morning show's fourth hour, Jenna Bush Hager had a normal job: She was a public schoolteacher. When working with kids, you have to always expect the unexpected, and you're likely to encounter some awkward situations due to that delightful lack of a filter kids seem to have for a few years. But Hager has discovered that the world of live morning television can get just as uncomfortable and chaotic as a classroom.

As the daughter of former president George W. Bush, Hager had to be prepared for the intense scrutiny she would face when she joined the "Today" newsroom as a correspondent in 2009. Naturally, there were nepotism accusations, but also Hager had a controversial past thanks to her fondness for partying during her college years. But aside from the baggage, she also brought some entertaining anecdotes about her atypical childhood when she started working at Studio 1A. Unfortunately, while her stories about life in the White House are often interesting enough to make headlines, some viewers think that she talks a little too much — and the one thing they want Hager to stop doing on "Today" is interrupting guests while they're speaking.

Unfiltered chatterboxes tend to have an increased likelihood of saying something they'll regret, as Hager has discovered. However, it's not always her mouth that's to blame when her "Today" segments get uncomfortable.

Jenna Bush Hager said goodbye to Hoda Kotb, her cohost of almost six years in January 2025. Shortly afterwards, the search was on for Kotb's replacement. The fourth hour of "Today" was temporarily renamed "Today with Jenna & Friends," and it became a bit of a chemistry test for Hager as she was paired up with dozens of different guest cohosts. One fan favorite who stood out was former NBA player Dwyane Wade.

Hager seemed pretty thrilled to be working with the Lakers legend — maybe even a little too thrilled. After they walked onto the "Today" set together for the first time, Wade immediately impressed Hager by being a true gentleman and pulling her chair out for her. He also argued that he was the one who was happiest to be there, pointing out to Hager, "You get to do this all the time; I don't."

Hager wasn't quite ready to let this jovial argument go, which resulted in her dropping an awkward double entendre on Wade on his first day on the job. "I know, but I've never gotten to do it with an NBA super—" she said, before catching herself. "That sounds weird! Your wife is here; I didn't mean it like that." Perhaps not, but she'd later ask Wade's wife, Gabrielle Union, a very personal question about the couple's love life during a January 2026 episode of "Today With Jenna & Sheinelle": whether they're members of the "mile-high club." The "Bring It On" star responded, "My spouse is way too big for us to do anything together in an airplane bathroom." At least Wade avoided being part of that blush-inducing conversation.

No matter how closely you scrutinize Jenna Bush Hager's spiciest outfits, you'll likely never see panty lines. One segment of a November 2022 episode of "Today with Hoda & Jenna" began on a rather sweet note when Hoda Kotb complimented her co-host. "Jenna always looks put together," she began. However, Hager immediately interrupted Kotb, realizing that she had ulterior motives for starting a conversation about style. Undeterred by Hager's obvious discomfort, Kotb continued, "I just had a little shock this morning."

Hager then grabbed her giggling co-host's arm and implored her, "You promised me you wouldn't do this!" However, Kotb proceeded to let the cat out of the bag by revealing something she realized about Hager for the first time that morning when they were changing in the "Today" dressing room. "Jenna never wears underwear," she informed the show's millions of viewers.

This forced Hager to make her case for going commando, and the skintight dress she was wearing that day was the perfect garment for it. "I think it makes a more pretty silhouette," she said. Shortly afterward, she revealed that she sometimes borrows fellow "Today" host Savannah Guthrie's pants. Worse yet, Guthrie said in a March 2022 Good Housekeeping interview, "She's not dry cleaning them either, let's be honest. ... She borrows my clothes and puts them right back in the closet." Yikes.

Bringing their children to work is a great way for parents to instill in them an appreciation for what goes into putting food on the table. It can also sate their curiosity about what exactly it is that mom and dad do all day. But Jenna Bush Hager learned the hard way that — when you work in live television — it might be best to let them observe from behind the camera.

When Hoda Kotb invited Jenna's daughter, Mila Hager, to come chat with her and Jenna on their show in December 2022, the little girl seemed a bit shy at first. But then Kotb started talking about how much she loves Jenna's laugh, and this reminded Mila of a moment that she was extremely eager to share with Kotb and all the viewers at home. "One time she was laughing in our living room and she peed her pants," Mila said of her mom. She then turned to Jenna with a huge grin on her face and helpfully reminded her, "And you changed your pajamas!" At least Jenna wasn't wearing a pair of Savannah Guthrie's work pants when that happened.

Once she got Mila spilling that tea, Kotb attempted to get her to share another secret about her mom. Mila tried to deliver, but her revelation was one Kotb and everyone watching had heard before. "She never wears underwear," Mila gleefully declared. After a dramatic pause, she added, "She's not wearing it right now!"

When Savannah Guthrie and Mike Feldman tied the knot in 2014, there were fewer than 100 friends and family members on the guest list. However, some of Guthrie's colleagues made the cut, including Al Roker, Hoda Kotb, and Matt Lauer. One who did not was Jenna Bush Hager, who wasn't as high up in the "Today" hierarchy at the time. Still, she felt that she and Guthrie had enough of a relationship that it merited a wedding invitation.

When the topic of weddings came up on "Jenna & Friends" in August 2025, Hager saw it as an opportunity to air her grievances over being left off Guthrie's guest list. As Guthrie described her wedding day, Hager interrupted, saying, "I also wasn't invited. She claims we weren't friends, but..." First, Guthrie tried to defend herself by explaining that she had chosen to keep her wedding more intimate. However, it soon became evident that this was an argument that she and Hager had had before, and she did not want to rehash the matter with cameras rolling. "We can't do this again. ... Listen, if we were married today, we'd be each other's bridesmaids," she assured Hager.

While Guthrie maintained her professionalism and kept the situation from devolving into a "Real Housewives of Rockefeller Center" spat, Hager steered the conversation back in an awkward direction with her comments about Guthrie's pregnancy. According to her recollection, she announced she was already five months pregnant when she returned to work after the wedding. Guthrie said, "I was 42. So, forgive me, okay? It happened." To Guthrie's complete confoundment, Hager replied, "And that's how you were able to have a baby ... I mean, I know how you were able — I know how you have a baby." 

He gained a loyal fanbase after appearing in popular movies such as "10 Things I Hate About You" and "500 Days of Summer," but there's a tragic reason you barely see Joseph Gordon-Levitt anymore: the 2010 death of his brother, Dan Gordon-Levitt, at age 36. When the way GQ described Dan's death in a 2012 article upset Joseph, he shared a statement on Tumblr that read in part, "I don't like publicly speaking about my brother's death." Unfortunately, because Jenna Bush Hager didn't do her due diligence, he was forced to say something about the heartbreaking loss in what otherwise would have been a fluffy "Today" interview about a comedy film.

In a 2024 appearance on the morning show to promote his movie "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F," Joseph spoke about how much his brother admired Eddie Murphy and how excited he was to work with someone Dan looked up to. "Did you call your brother and say, 'Ha ha?'" Hager asked. Somehow, Joseph managed to laugh before responding, "Sadly, my brother's dead now." The exchange is a tough watch, and many viewers felt it shouldn't have happened. "Did all that research and didn't know about his brother, wow," reads one YouTube comment.

In June 2025, Jenna Bush Hager joined a group of her "Today" co-hosts to speak about a topic that was personal to her: The U.S. Postal Service released a stamp featuring the likeness of her late grandmother, Barbara Bush. In an attempt to drop some scandalous lore about Barbara, Hager asked Al Roker, "Remember when you made out with her, Al?" Roker looked completely befuddled and could only say, "Uh," as he glanced over at a laughing Craig Melvin. Meanwhile, Carson Daly reacted by uttering the words, "Oh boy."

Hager tried interrogating Roker again before realizing that she'd made a mistake. "Didn't you kiss her?" she asked. "Oh, that was Willard!" Roker then knew that Hager was referencing the moment when Barbara planted a wet one on iconic "Today" weatherman Willard Scott during her husband George H.W. Bush's 1989 inaugural parade. You'd think Hager would have remembered the identity of the man who kissed her gran, considering that she spoke about it during a 2021 "Today" episode. "I think it was one of her life highlights ... My grandpa might've been jealous," Hager had quipped at the time. At least Roker was a good sport about her embarrassing mix-up and even thought of a witty reply on the fly, calling Scot the "other bald weather guy."

Imagine Dragons singer Dan Reynolds is one of the most famous real-life partners of the "Ransom Canyon" cast — but it seems his girlfriend, "Friday Night Lights" star Minka Kelly, doesn't appreciate their relationship being thrust into the spotlight. In a November 2025 appearance on "Jenna & Friends," Jenna Bush Hager might have given Kelly whiplash with how fast she tried to switch topics from Christmas trees and Kelly's Netflix movie, "Champagne Problems," to her personal life. "Speaking about the holidays and love and this romcom, you have a very big love in your life right now," Hager said. "Talk about your relationship — if you feel comfortable."

Kelly looked far from comfortable as she raised her eyebrows and leaned back in her seat, but Hager bulldozed ahead by bringing up something Kelly had posted about Reynolds on social media. Luckily, like her "500 Days of Summer" costar Joseph Gordon-Levitt before her, Kelly quickly recovered from her apparent surprise over the interview's sudden shift in direction. "I feel very lucky, he's a really good guy," she responded. 

Still, Hager caught on that Kelly wanted to shut down that line of questioning. "Okay, sounds like you don't want to talk about it, that's fine," she said. But maybe Kelly's reluctance to go there actually didn't sit that well with her, as Hager didn't sound all that happy when she added, "I guess we don't ... go to the video of him."

Back when she was an NBC News correspondent, Jenna Bush Hager had to do a little pavement pounding — or, in the case of a big 2017 assignment, a little red carpet pounding. While interviewing celebrities at that year's Golden Globes, she gifted the internet with one of the night's most viral moments when she said that musician Pharrell Williams was nominated for the film "Hidden Fences." 

"you're nominated for Hidden Fences" pic.twitter.com/7My6dtEkbG

— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) January 9, 2017

Williams was actually nominated for his work on the score for "Hidden Figures," a film about the brilliant Black women who worked for NASA during the space race in the 1960s. On the other hand, the movie "Fences" had also scored a few nominations that year and was another period drama with a Black leading cast — and this fact was not lost on TV watchers at home when this footage hit social media. Unfortunately, Hager didn't catch her error in the moment.

Williams didn't correct Hager's movie title mash-up, but viewers felt that the look on his face spoke volumes. "She was totally clueless, didn't even notice his face," one X user wrote. "She can only remember one Black movie per year so she made an executive decision," quipped another. Hager's flub became a huge story, and she even issued an apology on "Today" the following day. Williams assured her that no harm was done in a classy post on X, writing, "Everyone makes mistakes. Hidden Fences does sound like an intriguing movie though. Just saying."

Forget reading spicy romance novels — Jenna Bush Hager can transport herself to the steamiest pages of a hot BookTok hit by merely watching a man cracking open a book's cover. "I'm dehydrated when a man takes out a book," she told Hoda Kotb on "Today" in October 2023. She got so hot and bothered just thinking about it that she had to take some deep breaths and exhale a few times.

Hoda and Jenna are chatting about an article that says the hottest thing a man can do is read.

"I'm dehydrated when a man takes out a book," Jenna said. 😂 Do you think a man reading makes him more attractive? 👇 pic.twitter.com/dvBcgikr6L

— TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle (@JennaSheinelle) October 9, 2023

Hager added that she finds a reader wearing glasses even more irresistible before saying something that probably had her husband hiding his face in his hands if he were watching at home. "And if they're reading something I respect, Oh ... I mean, that could be means for an affair." Hager seemingly realized that she'd taken her bibliophilic fantasy a bit too far, as she quickly added that she was only joking. "I would never — Henry and I are very happy," she said of her husband, "and he reads." 

Kotb reacted to her co-host's flustered walk-back by laughing and asking her, "Why are you defensive?" A chagrined Hager then admitted, "Because I shouldn't have said that. I went too far." But the "Today" production crew sent her right back to fantasy land by flashing up an image of "Sinners" star Michael B. Jordan reading a book beside a bathtub in a tank top. Considering how parched she claims that she gets when she sees a man turning pages, Hager also had to find all that water appealing.

As we've learned from Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' TMI confessions, talk show chatter can go to some pretty wild places when spouses co-host together. Over on "Today," Jenna Bush Hager recalled the second-date blunder her husband made. Henry Hager was guest-hosting the show at the time, and he gamely joined Jenna in telling the embarrassing tale.

The husband and wife took their co-hosting to the next level the day after that March 2025 episode aired by risking the airing of some dirty laundry. They agreed to take a lie detector test, and one of the questions Jenna posed to Henry was, "Have I ever given you 'the ick?'" To his credit, Henry didn't try to lie. When he answered in the affirmative, his wife's jaw dropped in total disbelief. Of course, she had to know what she did to gross her hubby out, and he explained, "Sometimes in the morning, you know, you might want to brush your teeth." An incredulous Jenna responded, "That is so rude!" At least he didn't accuse her of eating in the bathroom like Hoda Kotb did in a 2024 "Today" episode.

After months of co-hosting her hour of "Today" alongside some occasionally surprising faces, from A-list actors such as Scarlett Johansson and Halle Berry to popular musicians such as Ciara and John Legend, Jenna Bush Hager finally found her full-time co-host in a member of the "Today" family: Sheinelle Jones. Unfortunately, in online discussions about the pairing, some viewers agreed that their chemistry was a little off. 

One tense moment between the two occurred when they were talking about Hager's special series of interviews with former presidents, including her father, during an April 2026 "Today" segment. Upon seeing a photograph of George W. Bush, Jones said to her co-host, "God, you guys look just alike, too. I know everybody says it, but dang." Hager then informed Jones that she doesn't consider this comparison flattering, explaining, "When people say that, I'm like, 'I look like a man?'"

Poor Jones appeared flustered as she tried to convince Hager that she didn't mean any harm and that it's a positive thing for kids to resemble their parents. "Yeah, my dad is my father," Hager said, slapping on a smile that seemed a bit forced. Meanwhile, Jones could only laugh through the uncomfortable moment. Hager and Jones' co-hosting had gotten off to a bumpy start when "Today with Jenna & Sheinelle" debuted in January 2026, and months later, it seemed they were still struggling to find their groove. These two should probably avoid that lie detector machine at all costs.