Jenna Bush Hager’s Marriage Quotes About Husband Henry Hager

It was love at first sight for Today cohost Jenna Bush Hager when she met her husband, Henry Hager, in 2004. The businessman was working for her father, 43rd President George W. Bush, at the time. After developing an instant connection, the pair were married in 2008, and have since welcomed three children together: Mila, Poppy and Hal.

Jenna graduated from the University of Texas and began working as a teacher’s aide prior to meeting her future husband. Sparks flew when they crossed paths on her father’s campaign trail, but Henry had a girlfriend at the time. Eventually, his former relationship ended and his feelings for Jenna led the pair to begin dating. Their first date, however, did not go as planned.

“My worst first date involved the Secret Service, let’s just leave it at that,“ the New York Times bestselling author shared on Today in February 2021. “It was with Henry, and his car ran out of gas, and went backward and hit the Secret Service.”

Despite their first date mishap, Jenna and Henry continued their relationship in the spotlight, attending red carpet events and stepping out in public together. In 2006, the blonde beauty thought Henry was proposing during a date night at a restaurant, per The Washington Post. But the real proposal came one year later in August 2007 during a hiking trip to Cadillac Mountain in Maine.

“When the sun rose, he proposed, with some secret service behind us, which was kind of awkward, but that’s been forgotten,” she said during a Today segment in July 2020. “He said [the place where the sun hits first] means optimism, and he wrote a whole thing. He couldn’t go to bed. I was like, ‘Why is he not sleeping?’ and it’s because he was writing. He was nervous.”

The lovebirds wed on May 10, 2008, Henry’s 30th birthday. The bride was escorted down the aisle by her father, and said, “I do,” in front of her closest friends and family. During a February 2021 segment on Today, Jenna explained why she decided to hyphenate her last name.

“I never debated,” she said. “I love my family, but it’s nice to have your own name too.”

The pair became parents for the first time in April 2013 with the arrival of the eldest daughter, Mila. Their second daughter, Poppy, was born in August 2015. In August 2019, the couple welcomed their third child, son Hal. Becoming parents made Jenna and Henry’s bond even stronger.

“I feel good. I feel happy,” the Texas native said on Today after giving birth for the third time. “You know, I think when you’re holed up in a hospital room with a newborn and you see the joy and the light in his eyes, you realize this is what life is for — to make the world better for our little babes.”

Keep scrolling to see Jenna’s sweetest quotes about her husband.

On a Shocking Proposal

Before Henry’s romantic proposal to Jenna in 2007, the television host ended up proposing to her future hubby a few months after they began dating.

“After three months of dating — I might’ve had a Christmas cocktail — and we were dancing, and I said, ‘This is it, I know it, let’s just get married, what are we waiting for?'” Jenna revealed on Today in February 2020. “But he smiled and was like, ‘I’m crazy about you, but you’re young.'”

On the Love Between Them

On Valentine’s Day in 2019, Jenna left the Today audience in tears while reading a touching letter that she wrote for her husband.

“Your love is like the Post-it note with stick figure drawings of ships passing that you left for me on the bathroom mirror when I returned home late. I’d been flying most of the day and I was dehydrated, and thirsty for home, for you,” she said. “Your love is like that note. It is simple and solid and thoughtful.”

On a Special Wedding Memory

The pair tied the knot at the Bush family’s ranch. The limestone altar that Henry and Jenna was standing at during the ceremony has since become a very significant part of family gatherings.

“I remember seeing Henry clearly, standing there at this cross that my dad had helped build for us,” she told People in May 2021. “It’s still there, so we have our Christmas services there that we put together. Our kids have gotten to stand on it.”

On Henry’s Sweet Gesture

In June 2021, the mom of three revealed a sentimental gesture from her husband during an episode of the hit NBC program. Jenna was bathing her two daughters and putting them to bed while Henry was downstairs cleaning the kitchen. He left a sweet surprise for her when she woke up the next morning.

“This morning I woke up at the crack, I wake up earlier than Henry,” the NBC star said. “He put out my coffee cup, my to-go mug I love, and my little pot pod next to the Keurig, and a little spoon.”