Jenna Bush Hager has revealed that her father, former President George W. Bush, texts her Bible verses every morning, a tradition that began when her twin sister, Barbara, was going through a “bad breakup.”
The 41-year-old Today host was talking about faith with Savannah Guthrie, 51, and Hoda Kotb, 58, on the Thursday morning show when she Opened about her father’s sweet daily ritual.
“In fact, I wake up every morning to a text from my dad that is a different Bible verse. I think I have forwarded them to both of you,” he told his co-hosts.
Bush Hager admitted that she was not initially in the text message chain, but it later evolved to include her.
Jenna Bush Hager, 41, spoke about a touching family tradition started by her father, former President George W. Bush, while speaking about faith on the Today show on Thursday.
The Today host (pictured on the show with her father) shared that her father texts her and her twin sister, Barbara Bush, Bible verses every morning.
“It started when my sister had a bad breakup and my dad started texting her every morning,” she explained. “It was a really small thing, but a very stable thing that she was (looking forward to).”
Barbara married her husband, Craig Coyne, in October 2018, and together they have a one-year-old daughter, Cora Georgia, named after her maternal grandfather.
Kotb agreed that an inspirational text from a loved one can sometimes make all the difference during a difficult time.
The mother-of-two recently missed two weeks of work while her three-year-old daughter, Haley, was battling a health problem at the hospital, where she spent several days in the intensive care unit.
“Life is all about timing,” Kotb told his co-stars. “Each one of you sent me a text full of faith and meaning at a time when I needed it most.”
Speaking to DailyMail.com last week, Bush Hager and Guthrie opened up about their close relationship with Kotb and his absence from the show.
“It started when my sister had a bad breakup and my dad started texting her every morning,” Bush Hager explained.
Bush Hager admitted that she was not initially in the text message chain, but it later evolved to include her.
I know how much I adore her; I already knew it every day,’ Bush Hager said. ‘But when someone isn’t at work unexpectedly for a period of time, you realize how important they are to you.
‘And I have three little babies like her, so my heart goes out completely to her. Hoda taking that time off shows how lucky we are to work in a place where we can take that time off. Also, I’m so happy that you heard how loved she is.
Guthrie shared similar sentiments about how they came together to support their friend, saying, “As a team we all support each other and that’s the way it should be.”
We are working these crazy hours that can be very stressful and also very fun. We have a special bond and that shows in moments like this,” she added.
“I love our show and NBC because there is never any question about being out of work for family. It’s always been, “How can we support you? Just take all the time you need.”
The Today stars often share parenting advice, and later on Thursday’s fourth hour of the show, Bush Hager and Kotb talked about how they comfort their daughters when they feel left out.
Bush Hager noted that he has sent the Bible verses to his co-stars Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, who share his faith.
Bush Hager then opened up about how his middle daughter, Poppy, recently felt left out after catching her watching a movie with her oldest daughter, Mila. She and her husband, Henry Hager, also have a son, Hal.
Bush Hager explained that his middle daughter, seven-year-old Poppy, was recently upset after he caught her watching the Netflix movie Enola Holmes with his eldest daughter, nine-year-old Mila.
The mother, who also has a three-year-old son, Hal, with her husband, Henry Hager, explained that she didn’t let Poppy see the PG-13 movie because it was “a little bit inappropriate” for her.
Poppy ran in and said, “Why would you do this? Why can she see it?” And her heart was broken and I didn’t know what to do,’ she recalled.
When Bush Hager relented and told Poppy she could watch the movie with them, Mila got upset and said, ‘No, Mom! It’s PG-13 and I wasn’t allowed that in first grade!’
He ended up turning off the TV, which made Mila angry, and he went to lie down with Poppy and comfort her because he remembered what it was like to feel left out.
I said, “Poppy, I know that hurt your feelings.” And she simply said: “I wish I was older. Why did it have to be the little sister? Why can I never receive love? Why can they never see me?”, the former first daughter shared.
Kotb shared that she could relate to Bush Hager’s plight as a mother, saying that her oldest daughter, Haley, has felt less seen while caring for her youngest, Hope, who was recently hospitalized.
Kotb missed two weeks of work, while Haley spent several days in ICU battling a health issue. “All the attention is on Hope, and Haley is also wondering, like, ‘Am I here,'” she explained.
Bush Hager was heartbroken that he made his ‘precious’ daughter Poppy ‘feel like she wasn’t enough’.
‘I just wonder, how do moms do everything? How do you give everyone the care they need?’ she asked her co-star, who could relate to feeling that she has fallen short as a mother.
Kotb explained that her six-year-old daughter, Haley, hasn’t felt as seen since she was busy taking care of her younger sister, who ‘hasn’t been feeling very well’.
“All the attention is on Hope, and Haley is also wondering, like, ‘I’m here. Here I am. Look at me. I need someone to take me. Do what you’re doing for Hope, you know? ‘I feel like there’s a lot of that,’ she said.
Kotb added that there have been times in her own life when she felt like no one was paying attention to her, but she believes they have made her stronger.
“It’s weird,” he said, “but I feel like I got most of my resilience in life because of it. You didn’t expect to always be seen and heard.”