‘I laughed, but he was terrified’: Jenna Bush Hager recalls the disastrous first date with the man, Henry, whose car ran out of fuel and crashed behind the secret service vehicle.
- Jenna, 39, shared the hilarious story of her worst first date with her Today co-host Hoda Kotb on Monday in honor of Single’s Appreciation Day on Monday
- The former first daughter explained that she and her current husband Henry Hager were in Arlington, Virginia, on their first date when he noticed he had little fuel.
- Henry tried to drive to a nearby gas station, but the car eventually rolled downhill and hit the secret service vehicle that was chasing them.
- Despite their terrible first date, they finally got married in May 2008 and are now parents to three children: Mila, Poppy and Hal
Jenna Bush Hager opened her worst first date ever and revealed that her husband Henry Hager accidentally ended up with the Secret Service at the Secret Service.
The 39-year-old Today star shared the hilarious story with her co-host Hoda Kotb at Monday morning’s show in honor of Single’s appreciation day, which takes place on February 15.
“My worst first date was the secret service, let’s just stand by it,” the former first daughter said laughing. “That was when Henry and his car ran out of fuel, and went back and hit the secret service.”
He was memorable! Jenna Bush Hager started over the disastrous first date with her husband Henry Hager (photo in 2019)
Looking back: The former first daughter explained that she and Henry were on their first date in Arlington, Virginia, when he noticed that his car had little fuel.
Jenna met Henry when he was working on her father George W. Bush’s presidential re-election campaign in 2004, and they put it off.
She explained that their disastrous first appointment took place outside Washington, DC in Arlington, Virginia, where Henry lived at the time.
They were in the car when Henry noticed he was running out of gas. He tried to drive to a nearby gas station on a slight hill – but he did not succeed.
“He started going up the hill and then boo-oop, crashed,” Jenna said laughing.
Oops! Henry tried to drive to a nearby gas station, but the car eventually rolled downhill and hit the secret service vehicle that was chasing them.
Intended to be: Despite their terrible first date, they finally got married in May 2008
While amused more than a decade later about the situation, Hoda gasped when she heard what had happened.
“Were you scared or did you laugh?” she asked.
“I laughed, but he was terrified,” Jenna recalls.
The incident may have been a similarity for some people, but it seems to have brought both of them closer together.
Party of five: Jenna and Henry are now parents of three children: Mila, Poppy and Hal
Look of love: The couple celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in 2018
Jenna revealed last February that she is so head over heels in love with Henry that she asked him to marry her after only three months of meeting – but he turned her down because she was too young.
Finally, Henry proposed to Jenna in 2007, and his mother, Maggie, told the Washington Post that he had asked President Bush for permission to marry his daughter.
The couple said ‘I do’ in May 2008 on the Bush family’s estate in Crawford, Texas.
Jenna and Henry welcomed their daughter Mila, now seven, five years later. They also have a five-year-old daughter, Poppy, and a one-year-old son, Hal.