Jenna Bush Hager has revealed an incident from her past where her grandmother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, was so appalled by her behavior during a tennis match that she penned a critical letter.
During a June 2026 episode of "Today with Jenna & Sheinelle," Bush Hager, 44, recounted that the letter was a response to her taunting and disruptive actions on the court. She described herself as competitive and enjoying "performance around competition," admitting she performed "the worm" dance move and shouted "Not today!" to distract her opponents. Her father, former President George W. Bush, reportedly found her actions amusing and encouraged her behavior.
However, Barbara Bush, who died in 2018 at age 92, did not share the same view. Bush Hager explained that her grandfather believed strongly in sportsmanship, emphasizing kindness and humility. "I think my behavior rubbed my grandmother the wrong way," she stated.
The handwritten letter, addressed to both Jenna Bush Hager and her father, explicitly called out their conduct. "That behavior on the tennis court was not becoming," Barbara Bush wrote, adding, "And George, you shouldn't have cheered her on, either."
This is not the first time Bush Hager has shared the anecdote. In a 2023 "Today" show appearance, she mentioned that her father had texted her about the letter, asking if she still possessed it. He reportedly expressed a wish that she had kept it so they could perform an "interpretive reading." Bush Hager admitted that while she had thrown the letter away, she now wishes she had kept it, reflecting that "some things that hurt, you will laugh at later."
Bush Hager has previously spoken about her grandmother's candid nature. In January 2023, she shared a memory from her teenage years when Barbara Bush commented that she looked "chubby" in a bikini. Bush Hager recalled that the remark affected her confidence, but years later, she learned her grandmother was projecting her own insecurities. She noted her grandmother's "biting personality."