Jenna Bush Hager is confident in her appearance now after transforming her lifestyle – but she recently revealed on Today that she felt insecure for years after she was body-shamed by her late grandmother, former first lady Barbara Bush.
The TV star struggled to contain her emotions during a discussion about body shaming with co-star Hoda Kotb, recalling the time her grandmother called her "chubby" when she saw her wearing a yellow bikini as a teenager.
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"I remember being a teenager," she reflected. "I remember the bikini color I was wearing, a yellow bikini color.
"I was laying next to my sister [fraternal twin Barbara Bush], and my grandmother, who I adored, but had kind of a biting personality, said something like, 'Oh, Jenna! Looking chubby.'"
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Hoda gasped in shock over Jenna's revelation as she added: "I remember feeling like I wanted to hide in it."
Jenna with her sister and grandmother, both named Barbara Bush
Jenna revealed that her grandmother apologized to her years later, explaining that she had been "talking to herself" and was projecting her own insecurities onto the teen after being on the receiving end of harsh comments from her own mother, Pauline Pierce, growing up.
"Her mother always thought of her sister as the really beautiful one and would say it. 'Martha's the pretty one, you're the funny one, you're the smart one. Martha's this one, you're that one,'" Jenna explained.
Jenna felt insecure about her appearance as a teenager
Reflecting on that conversation, Jenna added: "Late in life, she said, 'You know when I said those things to you, I was talking to myself.'"
Despite the apology, Jenna revealed that she didn't "wear a bikini for years" and only felt confident enough to do so in 2022.
"After having three kids, three C-sections, [I did it]," the 41-year-old said. Jenna shares daughters Mila, nine, and Poppy, seven, and son Hal, three, with her husband, Henry Hager.
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