Jenna Bush Hager defended herself after her Today with Jenna & Friends co-host surprised her with his admission about dating.
Jay Ellis appeared as Jenna’s co-host this week, following in the footsteps of previous guest co-hosts after Hoda Kotb’s departure.
During a Guy Code segment, Jenna asked Jay if he was “ready to share some words of wisdom” with the viewers.
However, she may not have been ready for his answer to the first question someone sent the show about dating etiquette.
The first question came from a guy asking about a woman with whom he’d gone on four dates. He mentioned that she hasn’t “done the move where she ‘pretends’ to reach for her wallet.”
“Am I wrong to feel a little annoyed?!” the viewer asked Jenna and her co-host.
“Stephanie, Stephanie, Stephanie,” Jay said, seeming to chastise the woman the viewer mentioned who had never offered to pay.
“You think Stephanie?” Jenna asked with a surprised expression, seeming taken aback by his response.
“Yeah!” someone else in the studio yelled, with Jay praising them for agreeing.
“You gotta fake a guy out,” Jay said, with Jenna still seeming surprised by it all.
Jenna quickly replied that she’s never done that with her husband, explaining that they’ve been married for 17 years, so they each pay for some stuff.
“But 18 years ago, you were never like, ‘Nah I got this one,'” Jay asked, and Jenna said she couldn’t remember.
“That means no,” Jay shot back.
“I read the rules, and back in the ’90s, men paid for things,” she told her co-host.
“I’m just gonna speak for myself, because I know I’m about to get in a lot of trouble. Obviously, I’m married now, but I enjoy taking my wife to dinner, or to a movie, or to a play, whatever. There is a thing that is very, it’s kinda sexy when a woman is like, ‘No, don’t worry about it, I got this one.'” he told Jenna.
Jenna’s jaw dropped several times during their conversation as she couldn’t believe what he told her.
“Ok, I know what I’m doing Friday night,” she announced.
Jenna didn’t pay for dates, but she proposed first
2004 was the year Jenna Bush met Henry Chase Hager. At the time, her father, former President George W. Bush, was involved in his re-election campaign. Jenna and Henry got married three years later.
Interestingly, Jenna revealed she was the first to propose, which happened after “several cocktails.” She was 22, and the couple had dated for just three months.
“He told me he loved me, and I’m like, ‘Me too. Let’s get married!'” Jenna shared.
An engagement for Jenna and Henry
Jenna and Henry got engaged for real in 2007. Ultimately, Henry asked President George W. Bush for permission to marry his daughter, Jenna.
They’ve since had three children together. Their first daughter, Margaret Laura “Mila” Hager, arrived in 2013.
The couple’s second daughter, Poppy Louise Hager, was born in 2015. Jenna and Henry’s first son, Henry Harold “Hal” Hager, arrived in 2019.
Jenna and her husband likely share many responsibilities and bills as a married couple of 17 years.
However, according to Jenna’s recent remarks on Today with Jenna & Friends, she may surprise Henry and try to pay for their next date to see if it creates any romantic fireworks.