Jenna Bush Hager Reveals Family Secret On-Air

By Melanie Aman Updated: January 5, 2020

We love TODAY Show host Jenna Bush Hager for her hilarious honesty, and during a recent Mother’s Day segment, the mother of two spilled the beans about a little-known Bush family secret.

According to the 35-year-old, her parents, George W. and Laura Bush, had tried unsuccessfully to have kids. They had started the paperwork for adoption when the former first lady learned she was pregnant—with twins. Talk about a shock! Jenna said the news came the day her parents’ adoption paperwork was approved.

“My parents couldn’t get pregnant for a lot of years, and so they tried to adopt, and the day they found they were pregnant with us was the day they found out that they had been accepted to adopt,” Jenna said during the lunch segment, which Kathie Lee Gifford hosted at her home.

Once the good news about Laura’s pregnancy came in, the Bushes put their adoption plans on hold. After Jenna and her twin sister Barbara were born in 1981, George and Laura didn’t have any more children, but Jenna still holds on to the heartwarming photo her parents sent in of themselves with their adoption applications.

“But I keep that picture of them that they sent to the adoption agency by my bed,” Jenna revealed. “My mom used to say, ‘Doesn’t this just look like two people who are desperate to have children?’”

via TODAY.com

Even though Jenna and her sister are her parents’ biological daughters, other members of the Bush family were adopted. Jenna’s cousins—Marshall and Walker—were adopted by her uncle, Marvin Bush, in 1986 and 1989, respectively.

This isn’t the first time that Jenna has revealed such a personal information before. Recently, she revealed another uncomfortable family secret on-air when she told Kathie Lee that her grandmother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, only has four toes on each foot.

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Oh, Jenna! We hope she stays this refreshingly candid on-air for many years to come.

Watch the full clip below to see the other TODAY women share their mother’s day stories.

h/t TODAY.com

Watch the video below to learn more interesting facts about Jenna Bush Hager.

NEXT: Meet the rest of the Bush family.

01 George HW & Barbara

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George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush married in 1945. George H.W. was sworn in as the 41st president in 1989.
02 George W Bush

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George W. Bush

George W. Bush was born in 1946. He is the oldest Bush child and became the 43rd president when he took office in 2001. In 1977, he married Laura Welch and a few years later they had fraternal twin girls: Jenna and Barbara.
70th BDAYS

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The pair recently celebrated their 70th birthday together at their home in Texas. County musician George Strait performed at the private party.
11 Barbara Bush

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Barbara Bush

Barbara Bush and her sister Jenna, were born in 1981. She is the older twin. Barbara followed in her father and grandfather's footsteps, graduating from Yale. She co-founded a nonprofit called Global Heath Corps in 2008.
10 Jenna Bush Hager Kids

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Jenna Bush Hager

Jenna Bush Hager is the younger twin. In 2008, she married Henry Chase Hager, and they have two daughters: Margaret Laura "Mila" Hager, born in April 2013, and Poppy Louise Hager, born in August 2015.
04 Robin Pauline Bush

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Robin Pauline Bush

Robin Bush was born in 1949 just a few years after her older brother George W. She passed away in 1953 from leukemia just before her fourth birthday.
03 Jeb Bush

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Jeb Bush

Jeb Bush was born in 1953. He served as the governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007, and ran for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination before dropping out. He married Columba Gallo in 1974, and they have three children: George P., Noelle, and Jeb Jr.
13 George P Bush Kids

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George Prescott Bush

George P. Bush was born in 1976, and he followed his father and uncle into politics. He married his wife Amanda in 2004, and they have two sons: Prescott, born in June 2013, and John, born in April 2015.
Noelle Bush

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Noelle Bush

Noelle Bush was born in 1977. She currently works as an office manager for a software solutions company.
15 Jeb Bush Jr Now

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Jeb Bush Jr.

The younger Jeb Bush was born in 1983. In 2005, he married Sandra Mary Algudady, and they have two children: Georgia Helena Walker Bush, born in 2011, and Vivian Alexandra Columba Bush, born in 2014.
07 Neil Bush Now

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Neil Bush

Neil Bush was born in 1955. He was married to Sharon Smith from 1980 to 2003, and their marriage produced three children: Lauren, Pierce, and Ashley. In 2004, the businessman married his current wife, Maria Andrews (pictured). They don't have children together.
Lauren Bush Husband Neil

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Lauren Bush

Born in 1985, Lauren Bush is Neil's oldest child. In 2011, she married David Lauren, clothing designer Ralph Lauren's younger son. The pair have one child, a boy named James, who was born in 2015.
Pierce Bush Neil

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Pierce Bush

Piece Bush, Neil's only son, was born in 1986. He is the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star.
Ashley Bush

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Ashley Bush

The youngest of Neil and Sharon's children, Ashley Bush was born in 1989. She attended Barnard College in New York City.
08 Marvin Bush Now

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Marvin Bush

Born in 1956, Marvin Bush is the youngest Bush son. He and his wife Margaret Molster adopted two children: Marshall and Walker.
Marshall Bush

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Marshall Bush

Marshall Bush was born in 1986 and adopted from the Gladney Center in Ft. Worth, Texas. In November of 2015, Marshall married Nick Rossi.
Walker Bush

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Walker Bush

Walker Bush, born in 1989, was also adopted along with sister Marshall, from the Gladney Center.
Dorothy Bush Now

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Dorothy Bush

Born in 1959, Dorothy Bush is the youngest Bush child and the only surviving daughter. She has two children with ex-husband William LeBlond: Sam and Ellie; and two children with her current husband Bobby Koch (pictured): Robert and Gigi.
Sam LeBlond

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Sam LeBlond

Sam LeBlond was born in 1985, and he's the oldest son from Dorothy's first marriage to William LeBlond. In 2016, Sam married Lee Bobbitt.
Ellie LeBlond

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Ellie LeBlond

Ellie was born in 1988, and she is Dorothy's second child from her first marriage. In 2014, she married Nick Sosa.
Robert Koch Collage

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Robert Koch

Robert was born in 1993 and has kept a low profile on social media. This photo is from 2004.
Gigi Koch

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Georgia "Gigi" Koch

Gigi Koch was born in 1996. She is Dorothy's youngest child, and her second child with second husband Bobby Koch.
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