Jenna Bush Hager is stepping into a new era!
The Today The co-host of the show started her first solo fourth hour Today with Jenna and friends on Monday, January 13, after the passing of her friend and longtime colleague Hoda Kotb on Friday, January 10.
Bush Hager, 43, replaced him Today‘s Morning Boost segment, previously provided by Kotb, during the show’s first hour, and then stepped into her new role as the main host of the morning show’s fourth hour.
Craig Melvin cries as he reads an encouraging letter from Hoda Kotb during the first broadcast as Today Susidro
She was joined on the panel by actress and attorney Taraji P. Henson, who was the show’s first celebrity co-host.
Bush Hager began her show with a pep talk to herself, saying, “Okay, JBH, it’s a new show. A new era. You get this! My mind is clear, my heart is full. I haven’t been this nervous since that Texas product Les Mis.”
Henson, 54, knocked on her dressing room door, assuring Bush Hager, “Relax, you’ve got this! I’ve got you!”
The two women began the performance by talking about the devastating wildfires in California.
“Still, I’m so glad to be here with you,” Henson told Bush Hager. “Because this is a great opportunity. People need people, and we thrive and bring joy to the world. We can’t all go dark.”
Bush Hager praised Henson for fulfilling her co-host commitment amid the devastating event.
(L-R) Jenna Bush Hager and Taraji P. Henson on Today, Jan. 13, 2025.
NBC
“The fact that you’re here today when your beloved city is hurting, and you could be anywhere, but you bring joy and goodness,” Bush told Hager Henson. – It means a lot to me, and this is our first day, which is a little crazy.
When asked how he feels about his new chapter, Fr TodayBush Hager joked that she was a “child bride” who married her husband Henry Hager when she was 26.
“And so I haven’t dated, and this is kind of my dating era, and you’re my first date,” Bush Hager quipped to Henson.
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Before entering the studio, Bush Hager got the Carrie Bradshaw treatment, running through the streets of Manhattan as Sex and the city theme song played just like the iconic character of sex columnist Sarah Jessica Parker in the opening credits of the hit HBO series.
Running in a vivid pink coat holding a cup of coffee, Bush Hager passed a new one Today with Jenna and friends sign as she smiled for the camera.
“Hurrying into a new beginning 🩷 #JennaandFriends,” she captioned the Instagram post.
Jenna Bush Hager cries during her farewell to Hod Kotb on Today Show: ‘Endings can be hard’
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Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on Wednesday, February 8, 2023.
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty
Kotb, who came out of Today show, after 17 years of broadcasting, last week sent good wishes to its longtime friend and collaborator.
“‘jenna bush hager’ ..working on my hands right now,” Kotb captioned a photo of Bush Hager’s new promotional poster. “Sleep tight—then…tomorrow morning…Start over…you’re magic! @jennabhager.”
The book-loving daughter of former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush recently revealed how she plans to step into her new era while taking lessons from Kotb with her.
“I hope I can be as generous as she was. Every joke I tell is funny because of Hoda. She cracks me up. She knows how to light me up,” Bush Hager shared with PEOPLE earlier this month. “She’s so positive. She’s so joyful. She says thank you and please all the things I want from a friend. She’s kind and committed to every person on our staff. And she knows it’s important — she sets the tone. I think we set that together, but it is a great privilege and responsibility that I have learned from the best.
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