There’s a rule in comedy that bigger, faster, and bolder will equal more laughs. Sometimes this can be taken too far. Jenna Bush Hager experienced this on the October 9, 2023, episode of Today with Hoda and Jenna. Although the joke was mild, it clearly made Jenna uncomfortable enough for her to censor herself.
Jenna and cohost Hoda Kotb were discussing how attractive it is when a man reads. Jenna made a joke about wanting to have an affair with any man who reads. She quickly walked it back and affirmed her love for her husband.
This all started when Hoda brought up a Bustle article titled “The Thirstiest Thing A Man Could Do Is Read.” Both Hoda and Jenna absolutely agreed with the article’s premise. Hoda said seeing a man read was “hot.”
Jenna chimed in that she becomes "dehydrated when a man takes out a book." This is a very clever play on words. This caused Hoda to ask her friend a question.
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“OK, you see a man with a book sitting on a park bench in Central Park reading, what is the first thing you’re thinking?” Hoda asked.
Jenna took some time to form her response. "If they have little eyeglasses too, just sitting reading, and if they’re reading something I respect? I mean that could be a means for an affair," she joked.
The second the words came out of her mouth, Jenna regretted them. She made sure to clarify she was "just kidding" and "would never do that." She meant it so much she said it twice. "I would never," she stated again. "Henry and I are very happy, and he reads."
Hoda could tell Jenna was uncomfortable with her joke. She asked her why she was “defensive” about it. "Because I shouldn’t have said that! I went too far," Jenna replied.
Jenna has been married to Henry Chase Hager for 15 years. The couple first met in 2004 through mutual friends when Henry was working for her father, then-President George W. Bush. Henry was 26 and Jenna was 23 when they met.
Jenna and Henry’s first date was less than ideal. It was not easy dating and being one of the first daughters. “My worst first date involved the Secret Service, let’s just leave it at that," Jenna recalled. “It was with Henry, and his car ran out of gas and went backwards and hit the Secret Service. I was laughing, but he was horrified.”
Thankfully, it all worked out despite their rocky first date. The happy couple was married on May 10, 2008. The big day took place at Jenna’s parents’ Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas. The couple share three children, Mila, 10, Poppy, 8, and Hal, 4.
