Latest news with #birthmark
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Jenna Bush Hager candidly unveils birthmark on live TV after revealing a boy once DUMPED her over it
Jenna Bush Hager defiantly celebrated her birthmark by revealing it live on air – decades after she was dumped by a boy because of it. The 43-year-old Today show host had been speaking to Savannah Guthrie on Tuesday's program about the new 'diaper shorts' fashion trend when she got onto the topic of the blemish on her leg. Before showing off her birthmark, mom-of-three Jenna admitted that she would restrain from wearing shorts that would expose too much of her thigh out so that it would remain hidden. 'I don't know if I ever told you this, but I had a boyfriend who broke up with me in the seventh grade when he saw me in a bathing suit because of my birthmark,' she said. 'That is outrageous,' Savannah, 53, quipped. Jenna continued: 'I know, it gave me a lot of PTS (post-traumatic stress). 'So then, I had a rule where the shorts had to basically cover the birthmark. So long story short, I couldn't wear the diaper shorts.' 'Have you ever talked about your birthmark before on the air?' Savannah asked, which in turn prompted Jenna to reveal her birthmark to the cameras. 'Okay this is actually me reclaiming that time,' she proudly declared as she jumped out of her seat and rolled up her shorts. 'Never thought I'd do that, but here we go,' she added, before revealing the birthmark on her thigh. Viewers commended Jenna for celebrating it, while also sharing their own stories. Commenting on YouTube, one said: 'I have a red birthmark on the back of my neck and I have had rude people snicker and say it's a hickey. 'I used to be so self-conscious about it, but I'm 64 now and I don't care anymore, lol.' Another said: 'Love that you were proud to show your beautiful birthmark you are beautiful inside and out.' 'I had a birthmark on my hip but as I've gotten older it seems to have faded away,' a third wrote. After the milestone moment, Savannah complimented her friend. But Jenna reclaimed her birthmark and lifted her shorts to reveal it in all its glory 'Can I say something?' she said. 'Your legs look awesome.' 'Thank you,' Jenna replied. A birthmark is a blemish on the skin that is present at birth or develops in the first few weeks of life. The type of birthmark depends on the main cells involved. Most include melanin collected in one area to create a different color to the rest of the body. Vascular birthmarks consist of vessels that have not formed properly and can look reddish or blue. Most birthmarks are caused by a change in a gene during early pregnancy when skin and blood vessels are forming. Jenna has been married to Henry Hager since 2008 and the couple share three children together - Mila, 13; Poppy, nine; and Hal, five. She has spoken many times about her ex-boyfriends in past episodes of the Today show, including the painfully awkward moment her parents threw her and her twin sister a surprise birthday – only for her to walk into the event and realize that they'd invited several of her exes.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jenna reclaims beauty of her birthmark that an ex-boyfriend once shamed her for
Jenna Bush Hager is embracing a unique part of herself that she previously kept hidden for years. On TODAY with Jenna & Friends May 20, Jenna revealed there was once a time when she wouldn't wear certain clothes in an effort to hide a birthmark on her upper leg. While talking with guest co-host Savannah Guthrie, Jenna said she became self-conscious about her birthmark when an ex body-shamed her for it. "I don't know if I ever told you this, but I had a boyfriend in the seventh grade who once broke up with me because — I have a birthmark, which you've seen," she told Savannah. She explained her boyfriend at the time broke up with her after he saw the birthmark on her leg. "That is outrageous," Savannah replied. "I know," Jenna said, adding that his comments caused her "a lot" of PTSD. After the breakup, Jenna said she made "a rule" for herself to never show off her birthmark. Whenever she wore shorts, she would make sure that the area was covered. "That is awful," Savannah said. After sharing the story, Jenna then got out of her seat to show off the famous birthmark. "This is actually me reclaiming that time," she said before hiking her skirt up to show off the mark. 'Can I say something? Your legs look awesome,' Savannah raved. 'Thank you,' Jenna replied. Jenna, who is now married to Henry Hager, has opened up about her exes before. In October 2024, she revealed that she has a box filled with keepsakes related to her ex-boyfriends in her house. Jenna said that her hubby once found her box and "skimmed" some of the love letters that were inside. When asked if Henry has a box of his own, Jenna said he used to have "old love letters" that he kept around, but she got rid of them years ago. This article was originally published on
Mail & Guardian
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mail & Guardian
KGOTHATSO DITHEBE: A model and a mother making her mark
When you think of Kgothatso Dithebe, you probably picture the beautiful model. But to reduce her to a pretty face on your Instagram feed is to miss an even more striking story. Born and raised in Mahikeng, Kgothatso had to put herself through school from a young age. Even then, she displayed rare determination. 'I made sure I finished school. I believed there's certain things in life I will have. I might not have all of it, but I can have some of it.' 'I think that's also my motivation in life. Because I always look at where I come from, I always look at my childhood. I don't ever want to see myself back there.' Kgothatso's childhood gave her the resilience she is known for today, and was also largely shaped by the birthmark on her face. 'I look different from other people. I have a birthmark that goes all the way to my head. My hair also has white patches. At home, I felt love and warmth, but outside, it was a whole different world. People saw me as different and started calling me names. And I think that's why I also started seeing myself as different.' Until she was 19, Kgothatso would usually cover her birthmark with make-up, especially on social media. 'I've had social media pressure in such a way that I used to hide my birthmark. I used to post myself without it, just so people can see me look the same, look like everyone else looks.' In 2010, a friend of hers introduced her to a modelling agency. 'They actually told me that they couldn't sign me with the birthmark. So every time there were castings, I had to cover it with make-up.' Then when she turned 19, working as a model and studying towards an LLB, Kgothatso realised she had the power to own her story. 'I was doing my first year and I was really tired. There's a point where you literally just get tired. I got tired of putting on make-up, buying make-up.' She speaks with conviction about the illusion of social media, 'When people look at my pictures from back then and then look at me now, they say, 'Where's the make-up?'' she laughs. But the lighthearted comment reveals a truth: women — especially mothers — are under constant pressure to appear perfect. Dithebe's refusal to conform to expectations is a radical act in itself. 'You know, social media is not real,' she continues. 'And I always say, if you are being yourself, you're putting something in the world that was never there before. Unless you want to be like everyone else. You see an expensive handbag or glamorous lifestyle on social media, and you think you want that. You don't know the troubles going on behind closed doors. 'I may post glam pictures, like me and my husband going out for dinner. But probably we go out for dinner once a month. Or they are old pictures from a while back. Social media is not real life. That's not how it works.' As a successful model, with a law degree, also currently studying criminology, and being a wife and mother to two children under three years of age, Kgothatso speaks with the strength of experience, and also with humility. Being bullied at a young age made her an introvert. 'I did not have a lot of friends. And that taught me that you are on your own in life. You need to know that you are number one. You need to save up for yourself. You need to do things for yourself.' She believes that more women need to 'get up and do the work. Because no one is going to hand anything to us. No one.' She doesn't say this with judgment. It's the voice of someone who has walked the hard road herself, someone who knows the cost of pushing through the pain. 'I never take no for an answer,' she says with conviction. 'There's so much I still want to achieve. I like going beyond when they tell you 'no'.' What Kgothatso represents, then, is not only resilience, but the economic influence that mothers have. Hers is far more than a gorgeous face. She is the face of a reality that can no longer be ignored: that mothers are not a liability to the economy, but an asset.
