Jenna Bush Hager Tearfully Admitted She “Wasn’t There” for Hoda Kotb During Her Daughter’s Hospitalization

Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb shared an emotional moment on Thursday’s (May 11) episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna.

While the co-hosts expressed how much they valued honesty in their personal relationships, Hager recalled to Kotb a time when she felt “sad,” saying, “I was holding it and holding it, until I exploded.”

Kotb appeared surprised that Hager mentioned it during the broadcast. “You’re always so honest, I think it’s such a good thing,” Kotb said. “I can’t believe you are bringing that up.”

After asking for Kotb’s permission to share the story, Hager explained, “When Hoda’s daughter wasn’t feeling well, I just wasn’t there for her the way I wanted to be. And I didn’t know how to be, and I felt terrible about it.”

She became emotional as she recalled the moment with Kotb, wiping the tears from her eyes: “I didn’t know what to do. So I just said it. I said, ‘I feel like I haven’t been there for you.'”

Kotb, calling Hager’s words one of her “most beautiful statements,” said, “It touched me deeply and it meant everything to me that you said that.”

Kotb took two weeks off from the show in February after her three-year-old daughter Hope was hospitalized.

Hoda and Jenna talk about ‘brutal honesty’ and Jenna opens up about feeling guilty for not being there for Hoda how she wanted during Hope’s health struggles. pic.twitter.com/h2RRyMOqKa

— TODAY with Hoda & Jenna (@HodaAndJenna) May 10, 2023

“I think there is something that is a relief, and release, when we tell the truth,” Kotb said. “It’s hard to say it, because often in life — and I’ve been guilty of this exact same thing — you just kind of plod along until it dies on the vine.”

As a crew member brought over a box of tissues, Hager exclaimed, “We went from brutally honest to weeping!”

The Today Show airs on weekdays at 7 a.m. ET on NBC.