Jenna Bush Hager Was “Ready” To Drop Her Last Name But ‘Today Show’ Producers Changed Her Mind: “They Were Like, ‘People May Not Know Who You Are’”
Jenna Bush Hager shockingly revealed on Today With Jenna & Friends that she once considered dropping her infamous last name until she was convinced not to when she began working on The Today Show.
Bush Hager – who is daughter of former U.S. President George W. Bush and granddaughter of President George H.W. Bush, – confessed during Tuesday’s (Dec. 2) Jenna & Friends broadcast that she felt “ready” to take her husband’s last name when they got married in 2008, but was reportedly convinced to embrace her last name when she began working on the NBC daytime show.
🎬 Get Free Netflix Logins
Claim your free working Netflix accounts for streaming in HD! Limited slots available for active users only.
- No subscription required
- Works on mobile, PC & smart TV
- Updated login details daily
She told her guest host Scarlett Johansson that she went by Ms. Jenna when she previously worked as a school teacher in D.C. “I didn’t really want them to know [who I was], although, of course, they knew. And so, I was, like, ready to go by Hager,” she said.
“But then, I started at the Today show, and they were like, ‘You wrote a book under Jenna Bush.’ And I was like, ‘Alright, whatever,’” she continued. “They were like, ‘People may not know who you are,’ which is so stupid because I’ve been here for 15 years. Anyway, I did both, and I’m fine with it. I actually like having both.”
Johansson, on the other hand, felt like changing one’s last name seems like “a lot of paperwork.”
“You do what feels comfortable for you,” she said on Today. “I feel like you shouldn’t be pressured into changing it or not. You’ve got to do what feels right.”
Bush Hager has confessed on the show before that she fought hard to escape the “nepo baby” title while building her own career.
“I think it’s hard because people want them to fail,” she said, noting that she and her twin sister, Barbara Bush, became “serious workaholics” to prove themselves after growing up in the public eye.
“I think it’s because we want to prove to people it isn’t always easy, that we work really hard. I think if you ask people around here they’ll say that and it’s also like, that’s important,” she continued.
Bush Hager said it was a “double-edged sword.”
“I’m glad I work really hard and I’m glad I have the family that I have but I also at some point have to be like, ‘Okay I did it, I proved it,’” she said.
Today with Jenna & Friends airs on weekdays at 10/9c on NBC.
Let’s be honest—no matter how stressful the day gets, a good viral video can instantly lift your mood. Whether it’s a funny pet doing something silly, a heartwarming moment between strangers, or a wild dance challenge, viral videos are what keep the internet fun and alive.