As Hoda Kotb prepares to leave the Today show in January 2025, everyone she works with is reminiscing about the important moments they've had with her. Jenna Bush Hager recently recounted how she first met Hoda's youngest daughter Hope Catherine ... and it came with quite a surprising confession!
On the November 19 taping of the NBC series, the duo brought up how exciting it was for legendary singer Cher to be on Today for an interview. This led Jenna to talk about one of the memorable times she spoke with Cher, which was back in 2019 around the time the musical about her life was playing on Broadway.
As Jenna explained to the audience, she was meant to be interviewing the singer for the show that day. But ahead of the interview, she received a FaceTime call from Hoda, introducing her to Hope for the first time. What's more, the interaction left her completely flustered in a way she didn't expect.
"It was the first week of our show. Hoda and I had done our show for a week, and it was Sunday," Jenna said in a clip posted on Instagram. "It was at her Broadway show and I was early, so I went and got a Starbucks. And when I was in the Starbucks, Hoda FaceTimed me. She said, 'I want you to meet baby Hope,' and I got to meet her baby. And then I had to go back and interview Cher! I was bawling crying."
As fans know, Hoda welcomed Hope in April 2019, two years after welcoming her older daughter Haley Joy in February 2017. Hoda has since shown milestones of her girls' lives, and she explained in September that they were a big part of the reason why she decided to leave Today next year.
What's more, Hope wasn't the only child who was born around this time in Jenna and Hoda's lives. Back in May, Jenna explained that she learned she was pregnant with her son Hal around the same time frame, all while Hoda was struggling to have another child.
"I remember when I took this job, I was pregnant with Hal. And I was really worried about it," she noted at the time to People. "I went to Hoda’s dressing room because I knew she wanted to have another baby and I knew she was in the process and I was really hoping that she would get the call any moment."
Well, we hope that even after Hoda leaves, we'll get to see these two in action with their kids!
As the entertainment and news associate editor for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey's Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.
