Jenna Bush Hager's Husband Once Rejected Her Drunken Proposal After 3 Months Of Dating

Jenna Bush Hager knew her husband, Henry Hager, was "the one" early on in their relationship. In fact, she popped the question after being together for only three months... sort of. On "The Today Show," host Bush Hager recalled how certain she was that the two were destined for marriage. And after having a couple of drinks, she blurted out a proposal.

"After three months of dating — I might've had a Christmas cocktail — and we were dancing, and I said, 'This is it, I know it, let's just get married, what are we waiting for?'" Bush Hager told "The Today Show" viewers in 2020. But Hager wasn't looking to rush things. "He smiled, and he was like, 'I'm crazy about you, but you're young,'" Bush Hager remembered. She talked about the moment again in 2023 on "The Today Show," highlighting how her younger self was a bit hasty. "He told me he loved me. And I'm like, 'Me too! Let's get married!'"

Bush Hager was 22 at the time, and it wasn't until years later that Hager did the asking. The couple officially got engaged in 2007 and were married the following year. But Bush Hager doesn't regret her impromptu proposal. She looks back fondly on how she took matters into her own hands. "I, like many of us, was taught to grow up dreaming of my wedding, not of my life, and I spent many years dreaming of my wedding and also waiting to be chosen,” she told the audience in 2020. "Well, here's the thing: I'm the chooser."

Jenna Bush Hager has a history of making bold decisions when it comes to her romantic relationships, like the time she almost made a permanent mistake by getting a tattoo after a nasty breakup. But when it came time to propose to the First Daughter, Henry Hager went the traditional route. He asked Jenna's father, President George W Bush, for his daughter's hand in marriage. And Bush Hager said the task was "not easy."

Bush Hager told the story on "The Today Show" in 2023. Hager was spending Fourth of July weekend with the First Family at Camp David in Maryland. When he called the President and asked if the two could speak privately, President Bush said he was too tired and requested that Hager speak with him in a few hours. "So he had to sit and stew," Bush Hager said of the nerve-wracking moment. When Hager did speak to President Bush, "He had like a seven-point plan of why he wanted to marry me and how he was going to take care of me," Jenna told viewers. "And my dad goes, 'Henry, I said yes. You don't need to go through anything else. Laura, Henry's proposing!' and that was that."

The Bushes were happy to welcome Henry into the family, even though his relationship with Jenna caused major trouble for the Secret Service. During the couple's second date, Henry accidentally backed his car into a Secret Service vehicle. There was no damage, but it was enough to make Hager really nervous and embarrassed. Good thing that didn't deter him from pursuing Jenna — they've now been happily married for many years and have three children together.