TV star Jenna Bush Hager and her husband, Henry Chase Hager, have been married for more than ten years despite his rejection of her marriage proposal.
Dating can be difficult, especially if you’re the daughter of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush.
That is something that Jenna Bush Hager is well aware of, but she was fortunate to meet Henry Hager, her future husband.
In the early 2000s, Jenna and Henry were invited to a football game by a friend. She wasn’t thrilled at first because Henry was her dad’s employee, felt “too old,” and already had a girlfriend.
After Jenna thought he was “cute,” they ended up kissing. “Jenna and Henry went on their first date shortly after that strange encounter, which she later ranked as her worst first date.
Jenna had to take Secret Service agents with her everywhere because George W. Bush was still in office at the time.
She was in his car in Arlington, Virginia, where Henry lived at the time, and a group of Secret Service agents closely followed behind.
Henry eventually realized that he was about to run out of gas, so he tried to locate a nearby gas station. The vehicle came to a complete stop in the middle of a small slope.
Henry probably got very anxious and didn’t apply the brakes, which caused his car to go backward and hit the Secret Service vehicle.
Jenna found Henry’s “horrified” expression amusing and couldn’t stop laughing. It is essential to note that Jenna’s mother, the former First Lady Laura Bush, did not take her daughter’s relationship with Henry seriously.
Even in 2005, Laura stated that Henry was not “a serious boyfriend.” He remained an excellent find.
He received his degree from Wake Forest University in 2000, before joining George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign and working for Karl Rove.
Henry is from a prominent political family and attends the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. His father, John, was the Republican Party chairman and lieutenant governor of Virginia.
Jenna defied Laura’s low expectations for their relationship by asking Henry to marry her just three months after their first date.
Jenna once gave her “Today” audience a touching Valentine’s Day letter she had written for her spouse. Because it occurred around Christmas, Jenna “may have had a Christmas cocktail” prior to asking the question.
She said this while Henry was dancing: That’s all. I’m aware of that. Please marry immediately.
Even though they had only been dating for a little over a year, Jenna was certain that they would spend the rest of their lives together.
Why are we still waiting?” Henry did the same thing, but all he did was smile and say that even though he was “crazy” about her, she was still young.
Jenna accepted Henry’s proposal in 2007. First, he asked George W. Bush for permission to marry his daughter. The former president said, “Done deal.”
“Then, while they were hiking at Cadillac Mountain in the Acadia National Park in Maine, Henry proposed to Jenna. In 2008, they married at the Texas property of the Bush family in front of roughly 200 guests.
She said yes. Henry and Jenna have been married for 14 years, during which time their careers have progressed steadily. Henry is the Waterous Energy Fund’s managing director at the moment.
Jenna, on the other hand, has been one of the most well-known journalists in the country for a long time, especially since she began working on the “Today” show in 2009.
At the moment, she and Hoda Kotb co-host the fourth hour of the morning news program. Jenna frequently waxes poetic about their special bond, despite Henry’s somewhat private life.
She once gave her “Today” audience a lovely Valentine’s Day letter that she had written for her spouse.
Jenna likened Henry’s affection to the “simple, sturdy, and thoughtful” Post-it note he would leave for her when she got home after work.
Jenna said that having a second child was “far sweeter.” She has also talked about some of Henry’s kind acts, like making dinner for her the night before she goes to work.
Henry and Jenna have three children together: Mila, Poppy, and Hal.
The journalist acknowledged that it was challenging to balance work and parenthood, but that many other women had done so before her and will continue to do so. Jenna added these:
“I’m glad I work because I want to show my kids that women can accomplish anything,” she said. However, you simply cannot complete everything at once.
The first two children of Henry and Jenna were practically born simultaneously, but the youngest was born five years later. Jenna gave birth to Margaret “Mila” Hager on April 13, 2013, in New York City.
George W. Bush made it public on Facebook that his granddaughter knows the names of her two grandmothers.
The couple was so certain that Mila would be a boy that they painted the nursery room a light blue. With their second pregnancy, they took precautions and asked the doctor about the baby’s gender right away.
Poppy Louise Hager was born in New York City on August 13, 2015. In honor of Jenna and Henry’s grandmothers and Jenna’s grandfather, George H. W. “Poppy” Bush, she was given the middle names Louise and Lewis.
Henry acknowledged that his wife was “amazing” during the birth, and Mila couldn’t stop praising her “baby sissy.”
Jenna claimed that becoming a mother for the second time was “even sweeter” because she already knew “how lovely parenthood was.”
On August 2, 2019, Henry Harold “Hal” Hager, the third child of the couple, was welcomed into the family. From his father’s side of the family, the boy was given a variety of names, including his own father’s.
The middle name was given to him by his paternal grandfather. Jenna went on to say that her two eldest children were overjoyed to have a brother and that they had already given the baby boy the name Hal Pal.
What a sweet family Henry and Jenna have!