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As the co-host of Today With Hoda & Jenna, Jenna Bush Hager doesn't shy away from opening up about her day-to-day life and beyond — particularly when it comes to her own body image.
Bush Hager has been transparent about her struggle with body acceptance, both sharing what makes her feel most confident and getting real about some lower moments (including the time her grandmother body shamed her).
The children's book author has also discussed how her body image has affected her mental health. After getting weighed on TV, Bush Hager said that she was "reminded" of why she no longer steps on the scale. "I was playing with my kids and I kept having that one number in my head," she explained. "And I was like, no no. I don't want life to be controlled by a scale."
Most recently, the mom of three reflected on journey towards loving her body, sharing that despite the progress she's made, she wasn't always immune to hurtful comments in the past.
"It's so interesting because people really do hit you right where it hurts. I had a boyfriend in 7th grade who broke up with me after we went swimming together, after he saw me in a bathing suit," Bush Hager recalled during an April 2023 episode of Today.
"I feel like even sometimes now when I feel great — I have three kids, three C-sections, I feel really in my body, and I think of it as a beautiful thing — I'll walk in a pool and have a moment."
From dealing with criticism in the public eye to how she avoids talking about weight in front of her daughters, here's everything Jenna Bush Hager has said about her body image over the years.
She was body shamed by her grandmother when she was younger
As a public figure from a very famous family, Bush Hager has had to deal with comments about her weight, including some from her own family members. While discussing comments Billie Eilish had made about her own body image during a January 2023 episode of Today, Bush Hager shared a story about how her grandmother, Barbara Bush, had once told her she looked "chubby" in a bikini.
"I remember the bikini color that I was wearing; a yellow bikini color," she said. "I was laying next to my sister. And my grandmother, who I adored but had kind of a biting personality, said something like, 'Oh Jenna, looking chubby.' I remember feeling like I wanted to hide in it." She added that she "didn't wear a bikini for years" after the comment.
Bush Hager recalled how her grandmother later explained that her own mother had "said those types of things to her."
The Today co-host added of Barbara, "Late in life, she said, 'You know when I said those things to you, I was talking to myself.' "
She won't talk about her body in front of her daughters because her mother never did it to her
Bush Hager has said that she's never talked to her daughters about weight or body image, and she "never" will. In a spring 2022 episode of Today, the co-host said she has her mom, Laura Bush, to thank for that, as the former first lady never talked about her weight in front of Bush Hager or her sister.
"She never said things like, 'Gosh, my hair looks terrible.' Or, 'I look terrible.' Or 'This dress looks bad on me,' " Bush Hager said. "And somebody [once] said, 'Well, I can't believe she never had that talk to herself.' And I said, 'No, I'm sure she said it to herself, but she never said it out loud in front of her girls.' "
She has learned to give herself "grace" when it comes to her weight after having kids
In January 2022, Bush Hager opened up about her weight transformation after she started working out with a personal trainer. When co-host Hoda Kotb told her she should "celebrate when something good happens," Bush Hager said she had "figured out what kind of works" for her.
She added that while sometimes people "expect things to happen overnight," her transformation had actually taken "six months."
"Here's the other thing, anybody that's either gained weight during the pandemic or had babies and gained weight, it just takes time, and you have to give yourself that grace, because my body isn't 18 anymore," she went on.
Bush Hager added that her mom had encouraged her not to be so hard on herself after having her third child. "I had three babies, so [my body is] going to look this way," she said. "And would I choose perfect abs or them?"
She faced "really hard" changes to her body after an ectopic pregnancy
In March 2023, Bush Hager again talked about reconnecting with her body after her fertility journey. The Today co-host spoke with Amanda Bartolomeo, the founder of the workout CorePlay, about an ectopic pregnancy she experienced before welcoming her children.
"When I first met Amanda, we started talking about finding your core, and what that means metaphorically for women and obviously, literally," said Bush Hager. "We both realized we both had had ectopic pregnancies."
She continued, "I had one years ago before I got pregnant with Mila. I hadn't really engaged my core because I've had six or seven stomach surgeries with C-sections, appendicitis, ectopic pregnancy."
"And so, I had sort of lost that part of me. But also as a woman, it was a really hard thing to go through," she shared.
She has accepted that she won't weigh what she did in college
In November 2019, Bush Hager and Kotb weighed themselves on live television for Today before they started intermittent fasting. A few days later, they both said they hadn't really thought through the consequences before doing it.
"I, for a second, was transported to when I was like a chubby little girl and found a scale in my mom's room and weighed myself," Bush Hager said. "And, I, for a moment, was there. All I heard was that. It made me feel kind of bad." She added that the last time she had weighed herself was when she was in college, so the results were a shock to her.
"I thought I weighed what I weighed at the end of college, and what I realized is since then, I've had three babies, I am 20 years older — I'm never going to weigh that again, and that's okay," she added. "Life is so much more beautiful because of it."
Bush Hager and Kotb went on to say that, after thinking about it, they both were reminded that there's more important things than weight.
"That feeling of being reduced to a number is something I didn't really like," Bush Hager said. "And I think I'll be careful about being gentle on myself."
She has struggled with her weight since she was a child
In an April 2019 episode of Today, Meredith Vieira and Bush Hager had a candid conversation about how they have struggled with their body image since they were kids. After Vieira revealed one of her "ridiculous" diets, Bush Hager said she had similar experiences.
Bush Hager talked about opening up her first-grade journal later in life and seeing that, even as a child, she had made a resolution to lose weight.
"I could barely write, and I certainly couldn't spell, and my new year's resolution was to lose 4 lbs. and I actually scratched out 7 and wrote 4," she recalled, adding that when her sister Barbara found the journal, she "cried for her little twin sister. Or larger twin sister. And then decided not to show me 'cause she didn't want it to break my heart — and then I found it."
Her body image has gotten better as she's gotten older
In February 2023, Bush Hager talked to PEOPLE about how, despite struggling with her body image as a child and young woman, she has since come out the other side.
"I no longer think that way and I haven't for quite some time," she said. "I think having children, and your body changing in that way, is such a good reset where you realize, 'wow, I've been doing this incredible thing, and my body is so much more than a vessel to be made fun of, to be worrying about."
Bush Hager went on to say that she now feels more confident in her body, and she credits that to becoming a mom and learning how to have a healthy relationship with exercise and conscious eating.
Along with meditation, she says these small changes have contributed to feeling good each day. "Because I think when you feel good, you're less likely to have any sort of negative self-image."
She never wears underwear
In a November 2022 episode of Today, Kotb revealed that she had recently discovered that Bush Hager doesn't wear underwear.
Bush Hager defended her choice, saying, "I think it makes a more pretty silhouette! I also think you don't have to pack as much. There's a lot of pros to it!"
She went on to joke, "I'm sure my mom has never been more proud."
The former first daughter doubled down on her comments in February 2023 while discussing an upcoming trip to Quebec City with Kotb to film "Hoda and Jenna's Winter Wonderland."
"We're going to be there for three days. How many pairs of underwear do you pack?" Kotb asked her co-host, to which Bush Hager replied, "Zero."
She makes sure to fit exercise in as much as possible
Bush Hager loves to work out, and despite her busy schedule, she makes sure to fit some gym time into her day.
"I love exercise," she previously told PEOPLE. "I'm one of those weird people that love it. I sort of need it for my mind as much as my body. And I always have loved to exercise. I did SoulCycle the day my daughter Mila was born."
The TV host also discussed how her relationship with exercise has changed since becoming a mom, explaining how she's had to tone down her routine now that she has kids.
"I think I used to kill myself trying to do multiple things in a day, and for whatever reason, that wasn't working. I mean, first of all, I don't have that much time [as I did] before my children were born. I could do that. I could fit that in," she said.
However, the mom of three still finds time to prioritize movement.
"Now I really don't have that time in my schedule, so I just try to go to the gym first thing," Bush Hager explained. "I go before the show. When I get home, I just want to be with my kids, so I try to do it first thing in the morning, and it's made a big difference for me."
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