Jenna Bush Hager Reveals Plans To Move Back to Home State of Texas—as She Opens Up About Life After ‘Today' Show

Yahoo

5 days ago

"Today" show star Jenna Bush Hager has only been a full-time host on the hit morning program for six years, yet she's already busy looking ahead to her "next chapter"—which she believes could well see her closing the book on life on the East Coast in favor of a return to her home state of Texas.
The 43-year-old mother of three spoke out about her plans for life after her run on "Today" ends, admitting that it is her "dream" to move back to the Lone Star State, where she lived for many years—even while her father, George W. Bush, served as the 43rd president.
Jenna, who attended the University of Texas in Austin during her father's first White House term, moved to New York City in 2010 in order to be closer to her twin sister, Barbara Bush, who was already living in the Big Apple.
Then, in 2022, she and her husband, Henry Hager, swapped city life for a suburban property in Connecticut, where they have lived with their three children—Mila, 12, Poppy, 9, and Hal, 6—ever since.
Yet Jenna is already eyeing up her next move—explaining during a recent episode of "Today with Jenna & Friends" that she has a "dream" of relocating to Texas in a bid to give her children a more normal life.
"I have this sort of dream—I just think everybody should have chapters in their lives ... I have a dream [and] I don't know how realistic it is, but when the 'Jenna & Friends' chapter comes to a close…" she began, prompting her guest host, Matt Rogers, to question why "that would ever happen."
"Well ... linear television, baby!" Jenna responded, before continuing: "Who knows? But when I'm ready to go to my next chapter, I think it would be so nice to move back to Texas and let my kids—I went to a big public high school—have a different life."
The on-air host, who took over the fourth hour of "Today" when her former co-anchor, Hoda Kotb, stepped down from her decadeslong role at NBC in January, noted that she has a particular fondness for the city of Austin, where she and her sister lived while her father served as the governor of Texas from 1995 until 2000.
"Isn't Austin great? I love Austin," Jenna confessed.
Of course, Jenna would need to convince her husband, Henry, who hails from Virginia, that a move to Texas is in the best interests for their family—particularly given that the couple has never actually lived in the state together.
The pair met back in 2004, when Henry was working for Jenna's father, and he popped the question to her three years later—after asking George for permission.
"He called my dad. He's like, 'I'd like to come speak to you.' [My dad is] like, 'I'm taking a nap. Come in a couple hours,'" Jenna recalled on the "Today" show. "So [Henry] had to sit and stew."
The couple wed at Jenna's family's ranch in Crawford, TX, and then moved to Baltimore, where the former first daughter was working as a teacher, while Henry had a role with an energy company.
Soon after Jenna began contributing to the "Today" show in 2009, the couple made a move to New York, where they lived for many years, welcoming their first child, daughter Mila, in 2013.
For many years, the couple were neighbors with Jenna's on-screen co-star, Savannah Guthrie, before they made the decision to move to Connecticut—putting their Tribeca condo on the market for $5.4 million in 2022.
The property sold in October of that year for the much lower price of $4.9 million.
Jenna and Henry moved into a stunning six-bedroom property in Fairfield County; however, they have worked hard to keep details of the home's location under wraps.
Before moving out to Connecticut, the couple also owned a weekend house in Long Island, where they would base themselves during the summer, with Jenna making the commute into the city for her filming obligations as needed.
Speaking about their decision to purchase the home, Jenna admitted that she fell in love with the dwelling because it reminded her of Texas, telling Veranda magazine in 2019: "There was something about it that reminded me of Texas, of being outside.
"Even this close to the city, there was a remoteness to it."
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