Jenna Bush Hager it appears she “didn’t date enough” before settling down with Henry Chase Hager.
The 42 year old man Today The show’s personality made the revelation on Thursday after sharing it with his co-anchor Hoda Kotb that the 22nd (or 23rd, Hager couldn’t remember exactly) anniversary of meeting her now-husband is coming up in September. This led Hoda to wonder if Jenna dated a lot before getting married in 2008.
“I dated in college. I dated in high school. I didn’t date enough,” Jenna admitted, to which Hoda responded, “Oh, that’s interesting.”
Jenna added that she wanted to impart wisdom to her children: “You don’t have to stay in a relationship if you’re not involved in it. I was a serial monogamist, which was fine, but I should have dated more.”
When asked why, Jenna began her answer by saying she’s glad she met “the right person” in Henry, but looking back, she wishes she had taken a different approach.
“We’ve built a really amazing life and I’m proud of that,” Jenna said of her marriage to Henry and having three children — daughters Mila, 11, and Poppy, 8, and son Hal, 4. “But you should have fun and date while you can. I think girls are taught, you know, be careful, because otherwise you’ll get a bad reputation. You can date many people and stay true to yourself.
Jenna said her commitment to monogamous relationships is rooted in how she viewed romance when she was young.
“You had this dream about the prince,” she said. “So I went into relationships – to be honest – thinking this one is going to go far?”
Jenna and Henry got married in May 2008 after dating for four years. Henry worked as a staff assistant to the senior adviser in the White House for Jenna’s father, President George W. Bush, from 2001 to 2003. Henry then worked on his re-election campaign as deputy operations manager before serving in roles at the Department. of US Commerce. It was during George W.’s second term that Jenna met Henry. They got engaged in 2007.
This isn’t the first time Jenna has talked about Henry on Today. In March, she admitted “sometimes“Liking it when people flirt with her husband. Confused, Hoda asked, “Why?”
“I don’t know, it’s like, ‘Oh, the girl can still do it!’ Because I know I’m very secure in our relationship,” she said of her 15-plus year marriage. “I’m like, ‘Oh, there you are!'”
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