Jenna Bush Hager Reveals The “Bizarre” Way Her Daughter “Gaslit” Her Recently: “I Try Not To React, But It’s Very Hard”

By Radhamely De Leon
Published Dec. 28, 2023, 11:51 a.m. ET

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Jenna Bush Hager

Jenna Bush Hager recounted a hilarious story on Today With Hoda & Jenna about the time her daughter recently “gaslit” her.

As she and Hoda Kotb dished on their favorite foods, Bush Hager recalled the time her daughter used one of her favorite dishes against her.

“I recently had an occasion where my eldest child – who will remain nameless,” she began explaining, before Kotb cut in and added, “Because she doesn’t like when you talk about her.”

Bush Hager continued, “Because she doesn’t like when I talk about her. She gaslit me via FaceTime. I was traveling with my sister and she was mad because when we traveled on our book tour we went to Taco Cabana.”

Taco Cabana is a fast casual Mexican restaurant in Texas that serves one of the Hager’s favorite dishes: queso dip.

“So she made her own queso, her mother’s famous recipe, and she FaceTimed me and she was going like this,” she said, before mimicking her daughter eating chips and queso dip.

Kotb could not believe it. “She did not!” she said.

hoda kotb and jenna bush hager
Photo: NBC

But Bush Hager continued, “And then, when I said, ‘Here’s Auntie Barbara!’ Because I didn’t want to rile her up, she would move it out of the way [and say], ‘Oh, Auntie Barbara, I love you so much, I don’t want to tempt you.’ And then when I would get back on the phone and she would move it back over and [continue eating.]”

The Today host claimed she gets “gaslit at least once a day” by her children.

When Kotb asked her how she typically reacts when her children do that, she replied, “I just try not to react, it’s very hard.”

Bush Hager has shared a number of hilarious stories featuring her kids. Just recently, she admitted that her daughter told her to get “some help” because she thinks she cries a lot.

While the family was watching Family Switch ahead of the holidays, she said, “I mean for Mila to be like, ‘I’ve had [enough]’… She was sitting on my lap so I’m sure she felt the tears. She just was like, ‘Enough mom, this is sweet, but this is not a tearjerker! You need some help.'”

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