Search

Jenna Bush Hager recently told Hoda Kotb what the most important thing is to her as a parent raising three young children.

On Wednesday’s (Aug. 30) broadcast of Today With Hoda & Jenna, Bush Hager admitted she doesn’t “really care” if her kids are “#1 in their class.”

The Today Show host shares three children with her husband of 15 years, Henry Hager: Mila, Poppy, and Hal.

“I spend almost all my time in parenting trying to raise kind kids. I don’t really care about any of the other stuff,” she said.

“I don’t care that they’re number one in their class or go to good schools,” she continued. “I just want them to be the type of kids that are kind.”

Kotb agreed, replying, “That is everything.”

The co-hosts also discussed how important it is to be kind and helpful, especially in a “competitive business” like theirs.

Bush Hager told Kotb that she values “somebody that’s caring,” saying, “I have so many friends who will reach out and check in on you and that means a lot.”

The co-hosts have previously spoken about the importance of being there for others. They shared a rather emotional moment during an episode in May, when Bush Hager admitted on-air that she “wasn’t there” for Kotb when her three-year-old daughter Hope was hospitalized earlier this year.

“You’re always so honest, I think it’s such a good thing,” Kotb told her. “I can’t believe you are bringing that up.”

With Kotb’s permission, Bush 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, “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 said she felt touched by Bush Hager’s apology.

“It meant everything to me that you said that,” she said.

Today with Jenna and Hoda airs on weekdays at 10 a.m. ET on NBC.