Jenna Bush Hager has faced a big challenge this year, having gone from co-hosting the Fourth Hour of Today alongside Hoda Kotb, to leading it with a brand new format.
As predicted, the popular TV anchor has made it look effortless, and has been refreshingly open about her new chapter on the show too.
During a chat with HELLO! following the release of her latest book, I Loved You First - which she co-wrote with her twin sister, Barbara Pierce Bush - Jenna opened up about working on the Fourth Hour, her dream guest co-host, and whether her three young children, Poppy, 12, Mila, nine, and five-year-old Hal, are showing any signs in following in her showbiz footsteps.
© Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty IJenna has been moving the Fourth Hour - now called Today with Jenna & Friends - in a new, exciting direction, since Hoda's departure in January. Understandably, she misses her co-host and friend, but has had a lot of fun learning about herself, and embracing the challenges that come with working with different hosts each week.
When asked what the biggest change and challenge has been for her, she replied: "Well, the biggest change is there's no Hoda, you know, and I'm missing her. And obviously it’s a challenge to be with different hosts every week and it's also an incredible opportunity. I feel like I'm learning so much about myself."
She continued: "I get to be with all of these different people from all these different professions via Dwanye Wade, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Longoria, Keke Palmer, Taraji P. Henson, my family. It's been such a growth opportunity for me to really get to know all these different people and also to carry the show on my own without Hoda, who I adore."
What's more, Jenna was more than prepared for the change, having found out about her co-star's plans to leave Today three months prior. This gave her time to process the news, and properly say her goodbye.
© Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty IShe explained: "One of the things that I have realized in the whole process, is obviously Hoda told us she was leaving and then we had three months to say goodbye. We really sat in that goodbye, obviously, you all watched us cry on TV constantly and I lived in it. I feel all the feelings around what it would feel like to miss this person who has become one of my – the closest people in my entire life. When she did go, I was ready.
© Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty I"Obviously, I would have had her stay forever and ever, but I had told her all the things that I loved about her. I had sat in the goodbye. I felt all the feelings. I had told her how much she meant to me – our whole team had told her that, so that when she was gone, I was like, 'Okay,' and we all were like, 'Alright, let’s start this new chapter.' So it was such a beautiful lesson on really living in the goodbye if that makes sense."
And while Jenna doesn't get to work alongside Hoda anymore, the pair are in constant contact. What's more, Hoda is still one of the only people awake in the early hours of the morning when Jenna has to leave for work. "You know, she still gets up at like 4:35am, and I’m up at 4:35am and there's nobody else besides Hoda really up, so we still talk all the time," she said.
As for Jenna's dream guest co-host to join her on Today with Jenna & Friends for a week, Oprah is top of the list. "She's everybody's dream co-host. And yes, I put in a request for her. It hasn't happened yet but I have not given up hope," she said.
Interview by: Nova Bajamonti
