Jenna Bush Hager Recalls Bursting into Tears After Discovering Dad George W. Bush’s Wedding Announcement to Another Woman

Rachel McRadyFri, September 25, 2026 at 5:30 PM UTC

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Jenna Bush Hager and parents Laura Bush and George W. Bush circa. 2000Credit: NBC; Brooks Kraft LLC/Sygma via Getty -

Jenna Bush Hager learned in third grade that her dad, George W. Bush, was once engaged to another woman

She discovered the secret while looking through his memory box after a conversation about school grades

The former president and Laura Bush married in 1977, just three months after meeting each other

Jenna Bush Hager is reflecting on the time she accidentally uncovered a secret about her father’s past.

The 44-year-old TV personality discussed the moment on the Friday, Sept. 25 episode of Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, sharing that she learned when she was in the third grade that former President George W. Bush was engaged to another woman before her mom, Laura Bush.

“My dad actually called off a wedding,” Bush Hager shared. “My dad was engaged and he called off his wedding. They were really young.”

Jenna Bush Hager reveals to co-host Sheinelle Jones that her dad George W. Bush was previously engaged prior to his marriage to Laura Bush.Credit: NBC

But the mother of three noted that the way she found out about her father’s romantic past was incredibly dramatic and unexpected.

“I got, like, a bad grade on a math test in third grade, and I was like, ‘I bet you got bad grades too, Dad!’ And he was like, ‘No, I didn’t,’ ” she recalled. “And he took out his memory box that my grandmother had made him, or kind of like a photo album, to show a report card and I saw a wedding announcement to somebody that wasn’t my mom.”

Jenna, who shares her parents with twin sister Barbara, said that the discovery led her to burst into tears.

“I started crying and made it about myself as a third grader does,” she said, laughing. “He was like, ‘Oh yeah, I was engaged.’ ”

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The Read with Jenna founder commented on how short-sighted her reaction was at the time, saying, “I didn’t realize in that third grade melodramatic, like, good thing he called it off or we wouldn’t be here.”

She also gave her dad some props, noting, “I do think to be able to walk away from something like that, you have to be able to listen to yourself.”

The former president and first lady married in November 1977, just three months after they met.

George W. recently made an appearance on his daughter’s talk show. Earlier this month, she called him live on air — at co-host Sheinelle Jones‘ request — highlighting their playful bond.

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“You’re on TV, Dad!” Bush Hager told him.

“I’ve been trying to avoid that,” he quipped in response.

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”