Jenna Bush Hager's love story with her husband, Henry Hager, will definitely make you say, "awww!" The happy couple initially met while Henry was working for Jenna's father, Former President George W. Bush, on his 2004 reelection campaign. Although Jenna Bush Hager's White House life understandably complicated their relationship, she and Henry made it through those growing pains and tied the knot in 2008. However, the Hagers almost did not make it down the aisle, as the talk show host almost wrecked
her own engagement. During a 2024 episode of "Today with Hoda & Jenna," Jenna reminisced about the day Henry proposed to her on top of Cadillac Mountain, in Maine's Acadia National Park.
Known for its beautiful sunrises, the mountain peak is the perfect spot to pop the question. However, the conditions of the early morning hike made the journalist "cranky," as she put it. Jenna admitted that she was clueless to Henry's attempt to stop and propose, which was disguised as a snack break. "I said, 'No, I'm too cold to stop [...] He said, 'Please, can we stop for a Luna Bar?' And I said, 'No, we can't,'" she recalled. Fortunately, Henry managed to convince his then-girlfriend to hang on for long enough to get down on one knee, which Jenna acknowledged was an immediate cure to her bad attitude (and she said yes!).
Read more: Celebrities Who Got Married As Teenagers
It Wasn't The First Time The Couple's Engagement Went Awry
Henry Hager's nearly failed attempt at proposing to his now-wife was seemingly just karma doing its thing after he apparently ruined her first attempt at getting hitched. Jenna Bush Hager drunkenly proposed to her now-husband after just three months of dating, and let's just say it didn't go her way. "I might've had a Christmas cocktail — and we were dancing, and I said, 'This is it, I know it, let's just get married, what are we waiting for?'" the TV star revealed during a February 2020 episode of "Today." Unfortunately for Jenna, Henry wasn't eager to hop on board the matrimonial train just yet. As the former first daughter explained, "He smiled, and he was like, 'I'm crazy about you, but you're young.'"
After all, she was in her early twenties when they began dating. Of course, it all worked out in the end; Henry and Jenna have been happily married for years and share three children: Daughters Mila and Poppy and son Hal. While she's glad they ended up together, especially given the many pitfalls they faced in the beginning, there's one thing Jenna Bush Hager wishes she had done before getting married. "I dated in college, I dated in high school," she said "Today" (via the Daily Mail). "[But] I didn't date enough." As much as she is grateful for finding The One so early, Jenna wants young people to cherish the joys of casual dating.
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