Jenna Bush Hager Says Freedom To Make Mistakes As A Teen Was “Absolute Best Blessing”

In this week’s People cover story, Jenna Bush Hager opened up about growing up in the public eye, and how her very famous parents managed to give their kids a normal childhood even while the world watched.  

"I had parents that really supported us and never made us feel bad about mistakes that we made," the daughter of former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush recalled. "But yeah, it wasn't easy. And yet I'm so thankful for all of it."

Bush Hager and her twin sister, Barbara Pierce Bush, were seven years old when their grandfather, President George H.W. Bush, moved into the White House, and 13 when their father became the governor of Texas.

Despite the political powerhouses on their dad’s side of the family, their mom’s parents lived decidedly ordinary lives in Midland, Texas. 

"It's interesting. I had such a juxtaposition,” Bush Hager, who now has three children of her own, told People. 

"We weirdly lived a very normal childhood," the Today co-host continued, noting that her family lived in Texas full time during her grandfather’s presidency. "We drove ourselves to Austin High School, had completely great childhood friends that had been there for us forever."

But “everything changed” when her dad became president in 2001.

"We just wanted to be normal college kids," she said of the media frenzy around her and her sister, who were just 18 at the time. Bush Hager went to University of Texas at Austin while her twin went to Yale... both with Secret Service details.

Fortunately, through all the scrutiny that followed, she had the support of her family.

"I think the world was expecting us to be perfect, even though our parents did not, which is the absolute best blessing that they could have ever given us. The freedom to just be ourselves and to make mistakes," Bush Hager told People. "Because I don't know how I would be a mother without having the grace to fail. I think kids, teenagers are so scared of making mistakes now."