All About Jenna Bush Hager's Beautiful Family with Husband Henry Chase Hager
The TODAY host shares two girls and a boy with her husband of 16 years.
While Jenna Bush Hager has been a part of the TODAY family since 2009, the daughter of former president George W. Bush has another family to come home to as well. Hager has been married since 2008 and shares three children with her husband, Henry Chase Hager.
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Read all about Jenna Bush Hager’s beautiful family, below.
Jenna Bush Hager met her husband, Henry Chase Hager, in 2004
Jenna and Henry first met in 2004 when he worked for her father, former president George W. Bush. He was the staff assistant to the senior advisor at the White House from 2001 to 2003. Although the two hit it off immediately, Jenna told a hilarious story about her “worst date” involving Henry while on TODAY.
"My worst first date involved the Secret Service, let's just leave it at that," she said with a chuckle. "It was with Henry and his car ran out of gas and went backwards and hit the Secret Service."
However, everything ended up working out for the pair. In 2020, Jenna told Hoda Kotb how she knew that Henry was right for her. “I do think one of the reasons why I knew really soon Henry was the one is I was completely myself, and he loved it,” she said.
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What is Henry Chase Hager's job?
While Jenna and Henry met while he was working for her father during his presidential campaign, he is currently the managing director at the private equity firm Waterous Energy Fund, according to his George W. Bush Presidential Center bio.
Jenna Bush Hager's husband proposed to her in a romantic location
Jenna told the beautiful story behind Henry proposal while on TODAY. ‘’We hiked to Cadillac Mountain, which is the first place the sun hits the United States. When the sun rose, he proposed.’’
They then tied the knot in 2008 at her family’s ranch in Texas in a lovely ceremony. "I remember seeing Henry clearly, standing there at this cross that my dad had helped build for us. It's still there," Jenna emotionally recalled while on TODAY.
The pair have been together ever since, celebrating their 16 year wedding anniversary in 2024. "I'm pretty proud of us," she said on TODAY in May 2024.
Since exchanging vows, they've grown a family together. Read all about their three children, below.
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All about Jenna Bush Hager's 3 kids
Margaret Laura "Mila" Hager
Jenna and Henry became parents when their daughter Mila was born in April 2013. The fact that Mila was a girl came as a happy surprise to the couple, as they elected to not know the sex of the baby until birth. "I really love the relationship I have with my mother, so to have a daughter would be special," Jenna told People at her baby shower.
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When Mila was born, Jenna couldn’t have fallen any more in love with her daughter. “I’m totally crazy about her,” she shared on TODAY in 2013. “I don’t even really like the color pink, and there’s pink all over my apartment.. I like things to be really neat, and there’s bottles and things all over, and we’re just as happy as can be.”
Mila once teased her mom on camera while on TODAY in 2022. "One time she was laughing in our living room and she peed her pants!" Mila revealed while giggling, sharing the fun bonding time they spend together.
When Mila turned 10 in 2023, her proud mother gave her a heartfelt shoutout via Instagram and shared how being her mother has been a "gift."
"Happy birthday to this dream girl who bursted into this world (early and eager!) 10 years ago in front of my friends at my baby shower,’’ she wrote in the caption of a photo of Mila holding a cat. "Your determined, generous and beautiful soul has made the last decade my happiest! We love you so much Mila. What a gorgeous gift it is to be your Mama."
Poppy Louise Hager
Poppy was welcomed to the world in August 2015, and she was named after her great-grandfather, as George Bush Sr.’s nickname growing up was Poppy.
“Welcome to the WORLD Poppy Louise Hager — named after my darling Gamps who went by Poppy during his childhood. We are in LOVE,” Hager wrote on Instagram shortly following Poppy’s birth.
Poppy is lucky to have her big sister Mila as a role model, who she looks up to greatly. In 2022, Jenna shared a sweet drawing that Poppy made, dedicated to her sister.
"My superhero is Mila because she is kind and nice and she gives me hugs. She gives me love," she wrote alongside stick figure drawings of the girls.
‘’Superpower sisterhood is all about loving our sisters and our friends just as they are! A NOTE from Poppy about her hero: her sissy!!!’’ Jenna captioned of the post.
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Henry Harold "Hal"Hager
Jenna and Henry’s youngest, son Hal, was welcomed to the world in August 2019. Jenna shared on TODAY that it was his older sisters who helped name him. “We weren’t exactly sure about the name, Then his big sisters called him ‘Hal pal,’ and we thought, ‘This is just perfect,’” she said.
The three children all have a super close relationship with each other. ‘’Mila and Poppy came and picked him out in the nursery, and they’re just crazy about him. The girls are so thrilled that they have a little baby brother all of their own,” Jenna added.
Beyond her daughters' input, she's also explained the meaning behind his name. "We are overcome with joy to welcome Henry Harold 'Hal' Hager into this world! He is named Henry after many on his father's side including his dear dad and his paternal grandfather. Harold comes from my maternal grandfather, Pa, who I loved dearly and was unable to keep a son long enough to name," Jenna explained to People.
Jenna told the magazine that being a mom to a son felt like a special new experience. "I'm enjoying him so much. I enjoyed all my kids, to be honest, but he is the special little boy and feels slightly different," she said. "He feels like this little love, so I'm just adoring him constantly."
Like his sisters, Hal has proven to have a firecracker personality as well. On April Fool’s Day in 2024, his mom told the most hilarious story about how the toddler tried to prank his dad by wiping beans on his shirt. And in the same month, Hal made his debut on TODAY and fans couldn't help but point out he looked just like his grandpa George W. Bush.
In 2020, Hager sweetly revealed to E! that her TODAY co-host, Savannah Guthrie, is Hal’s godmother, as she considers Guthrie part of her family as well. “Because I’m surrounded by people I really care about, it feels natural. And that’s such a lucky thing. You want to surround yourself with people who have your back.”
Originally published Apr 11, 2024.
