Jenna Bush Hager Cried as She Reflected on Leaving Baby Hal to Return to 'Today'
The moment Today fans have been waiting for is here! Jenna Bush Hager made her long-awaited return to Today with Hoda & Jenna after being on maternity leave since the birth of her son Henry Harold "Hal" Hager in August.
The NBC anchor was greeted with hugs by her Today coworkers at Rockefeller Plaza on Monday morning. Hoda Kotb was particularly excited to welcome back her Today with Hoda & Jenna co-host.
“I called Jenna at 4:45 this morning, just to say, ‘It’s time! Wake up!’” Kotb said while hugging Bush-Hager. “She was my alarm, and I have to say, what a positive way to wake up — being surrounded [by] y’all!” Bush-Hager said of Kotb, Savannah Guthrie, Craig Melvin, Al Roker, and Dylan Dreyer.
When the fourth hour hit, Bush-Hager took a seat next to Kotb on Today with Hoda & Jenna like she never left. She was over the moon to be there.
"It feels so good! I hope you all have these places in your life you want to go back to," she said to Kotb. "Because I wanted to come back, y'all didn't have to drag me! And it feels so good. I think we should all find those places and stick with them," she said of her role.
Kotb, who also recently returned to Today from maternity leave in September after welcoming her second daughter Hope Catherine via adoption, asked Bush-Hager how she felt returning to work after leave. Despite her excitement to be back, Bush-Hager became very emotional.
"Last night I held him a little tighter. I cried on his head, I'll admit it," she replied. "I'm happy to come back. I can't believe that he's here and I get to be his mom!" Baby Hal is the youngest of the Bush-Hager clan, and the only brother to 4-year-old Poppy and 6-year-old Mila. "It feels like this unbelievable miracle to get be this little person's mom and watch his sisters love him," she continued, while fighting back tears.
Kotb asked her what it's been like to raise three young children. "There's days that it feels hard. Television is easier than being a mom sometimes," Bush-Hager responded. "Because we love them so much, I beat myself up a lot. I want things to be right for those kids. I want them to feel like the home is a happy one, and sometimes it isn't always."
The Today with Hoda & Jenna co-host also said that Hal has been pretty easy to raise. "Men are simpler. Henry wouldn't cry when he went back from paternity leave, and look at me! I'm weeping! I don't know what's wrong with me, I have a thousand emotions on my mind," she said. "As long as Hal is close to somebody that's holding him and loves him, he's happy." Bush-Hager concluded by mentioning that Hal is "probably" her last child, but we'll have to wait and see!
Today with Hoda & Jenna fans were ecstatic to have the co-star back hosting with Kotb. Bush-Hager shared a touching Instagram photo with her co-host for her return, captioning it "@hodakotb, I’m coming home!!!"
Comment after comment welcomed Bush-Hager back. "Welcome back Jenna! Happy to have you back.??????????????" one follower wrote, while others commented, "Glad to hear! You bring much sunshine to the show!" and "We missed you girl! ??"
She also shared an image of a beautiful sunset and expressed her appreciation. "Good morning! Feeling full of gratitude for so much today: our beautiful country that is free thanks to all of those who serve, my children who woke up at 5am, finding me in the shower saying 'Mama, we need to give you a hug on your first day at work' (not sure how their dad felt about the early wakeup!) And feeling so thankful that I love what I do—this place and the people who I adore — make leaving a darling little man and his sisters so much easier," she wrote in the caption.
It's so good to have you back, Jenna!
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