Meet Jenna Bush Hager’s Husband and 3 Kids—’I Put My Kids To Bed and Enjoy Every Second of It’
From their disastrous first date to three kids, here's Jenna Bush Hager's family story
Key Takeaways
- 'Today' show co-host Jenna Bush Hager has been married to Henry Hager since May 2008.
- Jenna and Henry have three kids: Mila (2013), Poppy (2015) and Hal (2019).
- Henry proposed in 2007 after Jenna's first proposal to him was turned down.
Most people know Jenna Bush Hager as a book lover, former first daughter and current Today show co-host. To a select few, however, Jenna is known as something else entirely: a wife and mother. So who exactly is Jenna married to, and how many kids does she actually have? We reveal everything you need to know below.
Get to know Jenna Bush Hager’s husband
Jenna’s husband is Henry Hager. They met while he was a staff assistant to Karl Rove, senior advisor to Jenna’s father, former President George W. Bush. According to her their first date was her “worst first date” ever.
“His car ran out of gas and went backwards and hit the Secret Service,” Jenna said on Today in 2023. “He started to go up the hill and then boop, crash. I was laughing but he was horrified.”
Despite that disastrous first date, Jenna said the rest of the relationship went rather smoothly. In fact, Jenna even asked Henry to marry her after just three months. Henry said no, but he eventually did propose to Jenna for real in 2007 on a hiking trip. They married on May 10, 2008 at her family’s lakeside ranch in Crawford, Texas.
“Twelve years ago I married this dude as the sun set over Texas—the day after his thirtieth birthday,” Jenna wrote on Instagram in 2020. “Twelve years, three kids, some loss and insurmountable JOY—and I still love him with all of me. Happiest anniversary Hank.”
Since their wedding, Jenna and Henry have remained strong. They’ve been spotted at a variety of red carpets and press events together and are just two years away from celebrating 20 years of marriage.
Get to know Jenna Bush Hager’s three kids
Since tying the knot in 2008, Jenna and Henry have welcomed three children together.
The first, Margaret Laura “Mila” Hager, was born in April 2013 and was named after both of her grandmothers: Jenna’s mother, Laura Bush, and Henry’s mother, Margaret. Mila has made a variety of Today show appearances since her birth, but according to Jenna, one of Mila’s most memorable moments was when she decided to be born right in the middle of her baby shower.
“I felt like my stomach was going ‘blop blop,’ and somebody across me goes, ‘Girl, you’re going to have that baby right now.’ And then it was like, three, two, water break,” Jenna said on Today in 2023. “Henry thought we were playing a joke on him, because Barbara and I had ganged up on him.”
The couple’s second daughter, Poppy Louise Hager, was born in August 2015. Her first name honors Jenna’s grandfather, former President George H.W. Bush, whose childhood nickname was “Poppy.” Her middle name, Louise, pays tribute to both sides of the family, drawing inspiration from the middle names of Henry’s grandmother, Louise, and Jenna’s grandmother, Lewis.
“We are proud to name her after a man we so adore,” Henry told Today in 2015.
Finally, in August 2019, Jenna and Henry welcomed their third child, Henry Harold “Hal” Hager. He was the couple’s first boy and according to Jenna, his birth was quite simple.
“I had Hal for an hour, and my sister arrived with tacos and doughnuts and the nurse said I wasn’t allowed to eat breakfast tacos and doughnuts,” Jenna said in 2023 on Today. “I wasn’t allowed to eat yet because I’d had a C-section.”
As of now, all of Jenna and Henry’s children still live at home and Jenna frequently gushes about them in interviews and on social media.
“I try to do the best in each aspect of my life. When I go home, I put my kids to bed and enjoy every second of it. I try to monitor if I’m exhausted or if I’m overworked, or whatever it is, and try to take things off my plate,” Jenna told First for Women in 2025.
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Woman's World does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.
