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Today with Hoda & Jenna

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Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager got real about some of the hurtful comments they’ve received during their lifetime on Wednesday morning’s (April 12) episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna.

The duo’s revelations came after Ariana Grande posted a video to social media addressing those actively commenting on her appearance. The conversation about body image sparked a painful memory for Hager, who revealed that she had a boyfriend when she was in seventh grade who cruelly broke up with her after seeing her in a bathing suit.

“I feel like even sometimes now when I feel great, I have three kids, three C-sections, I feel like really in my body, and I think of it as a beautiful thing, I’ll walk in a pool and have a moment of like [gasps],” she said.

Hager added, “There’s been times when we’ve done this show where people have written about our body. It takes you back to that moment.”

As for the harshest bit of criticism Kotb has received, she opened up about the time she was mom-shamed after adopting her daughters Haley, 6, and Hope, 4, while she was in her 50s. The jarring comments came to her in a letter that was addressed to her house.

“I open the letter and it was something along the lines of, ‘How dare you [bring] a child into this world at your age. Don’t you know what you’re doing to that child?’” she told Hager. “It went on and on and it took my breath away because that actually was my ouch.”

She continued, “I was scared. Like, is this something that is smart for me to do and am I helping or am I gonna ultimately be harming?”

While Kotb admitted she was left “feeling terrible” as a result of the hate mail, she ultimately thought of her father — who passed away when she was in college — to reassure herself that she was making the right decision.

“I remember thinking, ‘We have our parents for a period of time,'” she said. “I know the foundation he left. I know it was worth every second of that time, so I thought about that too.”

Today with Hoda & Jenna airs on weekdays at 10/9c on NBC.