Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former President George W. Bush, has shared an anecdote detailing how her late grandmother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, admonished her for unsportsmanlike conduct during a family tennis match.
Hager recounted the incident on an episode of "Today with Jenna & Sheinelle," explaining that as an adult, she engaged in behavior that included "doing the worm and yelling, ‘Not today!’" Her father, then-President George W. Bush, reportedly found the antics amusing, exclaiming, "That’s my girl!"
However, both Barbara Bush and her husband, former President George H.W. Bush, did not share the same sentiment. Hager recalled that her grandfather strongly believed in sportsmanship, emphasizing kindness and humility. This ethos led her grandmother to express her disapproval in a letter.
Barbara Bush addressed the note to both Jenna and her father. "The best part is that she addressed it to me and my dad," Hager said. "She was like, ‘That behavior on the tennis court was not becoming. And George, you shouldn’t have cheered her on, either.’"
The former first lady also instructed that the letter be kept private, adding a postscript that read, "P.S. Throw this letter away and don’t tell anybody about it." Hager admitted with a chuckle, "Oops!"