Jenna Bush Hager has revealed that her middle school boyfriend cruelly dumped her after seeing her in a swimsuit, saying she still thinks about it to this day.
The TODAY star, 41, and co-host Hoda Kotb, 58, reflected on the hurtful comments they’ve received over the years while discussing Ariana Grande’s response to public scrutiny about her changing body on Wednesday’s show.
“I had a boyfriend in seventh grade who broke up with me after we went swimming together, after he saw me in a bathing suit,” Bush Hager recalls.
“So I feel like even sometimes now when I feel good, I have three babies, three C-sections, I really feel in my body, and I think it’s a beautiful thing, I’m going to walk in a pool and have a moment like (gasps).
Jenna Bush Hager, 41, revealed on the Today Show Wednesday that she was cruelly dumped by her middle school boyfriend after he saw her in a swimsuit.
She and co-host Hoda Kotb were discussing the recent public scrutiny of Ariana Grande’s body when they shared a painful memory.
‘I had a boyfriend in seventh grade who broke up with me after we went swimming together, after he saw me in a bathing suit,’ Bush Hager (pictured as a child) recalls.
She added, “There have been times when we’ve done this show where people have written about[our bodies].” “It takes you back to that moment.”
Posh Hager has been outspoken about how she struggled with body image growing up, previously speaking about how she found a fourth-grade journal in which she vowed to lose four pounds on January 1, 1991.
Her latest reflection comes three months after she shared that her late grandmother Barbara Bush told her she looked “chubby” in a bikini when she was a teenager – only to apologize for that remark years later.
“I remember the color of the bikini I was wearing, the yellow bikini,” she explained in January. “I was lying next to my sister (Barbara Bush), and my grandmother, who I love, but had a kind of snappy personality, said something like, ‘Oh, Jenna! She looks so plump.'”
The former first daughter explained how her grandmother’s fleeting comment affected the way she viewed herself in her formative years.
“I remember I wanted to hide in it,” she said.
Bosch Hager (pictured with her daughter, Mila) admitted that she still thinks about that moment decades later and will sometimes gasp when she enters the pool and the memory hits her.
Posh Hager has been candid about how she struggled with body image growing up, previously speaking about how she found a fourth-grade journal in which she vowed to lose four pounds.
In January, Bush Hager (pictured with a friend before prom) shared that her grandmother Barbara Bush told her she looked “chubby” in a bikini when she was a teen — only to apologize for putting the cut on hold years later.
Bush Hager admitted she didn’t wear a bikini for years afterward, but she later learned That her grandmother was making her feel insecure about her.
She shared how the former first lady apologized to her later in life saying, “You know, when I said those things to you, I was talking to myself.”
After Bush Hager’s story about her seventh-grade boyfriend, Kotb opened up about a defining moment in her life.
She recalled how shamed she felt about adopting her daughters, Haley, six, and Hope, four, when she was in her fifties.
I will never forget this. I had a letter addressed to me in someone’s handwriting delivered to my house,” Bush told Hager.
Kotb said the person wrote “something along the lines of, ‘How dare you bring a child into this world your age. ‘” Don’t you know what you’re doing with that kid? “
It just kept going over and over. It took my breath away because this was actually painful, she explained, saying her age was really something she worried about.
After Bush Hagar’s story about her seventh-grade boyfriend, Kotb opened up about her shame over adopting daughters Haley, age six, and Hope, age four, in their fifties.
Qutb recalled how the person wrote her a letter saying: “How dare you bring a child into this world at your age. Don’t you know what to do with this child?
Both Bush Hager and Kott agreed that people should refrain from making comments, even if they think they are helpful, because you never know what someone is going through.
When I read it, I thought, “Somebody took a pen and sat down at a table and wrote that and took out a stamp and mailed it. Like he went to all that trouble to tell me that…and look.”
What helped her move on from that moment on was the reminder of her father, who passed away when she was in college.
“I remember thinking, ‘We’ve got our parents for a while,'” she said. “I know the institution he left. I know it was worth every second of that time, so I thought about that, too.”
The Stars of the Day discussion on Wednesday’s show came in response to Grande, 29, who shut down recent concerns about her appearance from fans who pointed to her weight loss and noted that her face has changed over time.
The singer, who was filming Wicked in London, responded in a video shared on TikTok, saying she was healthier than ever.
Both Bush Hager and Kott agreed that people should refrain from making comments, even if they think they are helpful, because you never know what someone is going through.
We need to stop commenting on women’s bodies. a period. I said just that. We are in our bodies. Bush Hager said: We know.
I walk around my body. Kotb added: I don’t want you to tell me what I already know. ‘I live here. This is me.’
