Jenna Bush Hager doubled down on her stance on wearing one-piece swimsuits vs. bikinis.
Jenna, 43, was joined by Saturday Night Live’s Ego Nwodim to discuss some hot topics during the segment titled “Best Friends Five” on Today. One of the topics they talked about was whether they prefer wearing a bikini or a one-piece bathing suit and why.
Ego, 36, said that she liked wearing bikinis, and Jenna said that she liked wearing one-pieces. The former first daughter clarified that even though she prefers to be in a traditional bathing suit, she still deems them “sexy-ish.”
“I just didn’t want you to think I was rocking a speedo, you know,” she said.
“I like a one-piece because it covers some areas that have seen some work — and by work, I mean children stretching it,” Jenna continued. “But I like it to be sexy-ish.”
“But of course you should wear a bikini, you’re hot,” the NBC host said, to which Ego responded, “A one-piece is also acceptable, I’m not judging, and honestly I was torn on this one.”
This is a topic that fans may remember Jenna talking about on the show before with Hoda Kotb. Hoda, who left Today in January a few months after her 60th birthday, said that she preferred to wear bikinis during an episode of the show’s fourth hour in April 2022.
“My mother, who is in her 80s, wears a bikini bathing suit. She taught me that confidence comes from the inside. She is tan, bronzed, and beautiful,” Hoda explained during the segment. “Ever since that, I too have worn a bikini. Who cares if stuff is goo-ing out? It doesn’t matter! You live once, how do you want to live?! Scared?!”
Jenna applauded Hoda for her take but said that she felt more comfortable in a one-piece bathing suit.
“Not all of us tan equally, some of us have stomachs that haven’t seen the light of day since I was 18!” the Sisters First author, who shares kids Mila, Poppy and Hal with husband Henry Hager, said.
“If that burns, how does that make my body feel? Not so good! Some of us also have a larger region right up here,” Jenna continued. “We want to throw our kids in the air. When my bathing suit fell off, it scared people! So I like to be tight.”
Over the years, Jenna has shown off her swimsuit looks in photos posted on her Instagram account. She previously explained that a negative experience from her younger years impacted her self-confidence for a period of time.
“I remember the bikini color that I was wearing; a yellow bikini color. I was laying next to my sister. And my grandmother, who I adored but had kind of a biting personality, said something like, ‘Oh Jenna, looking chubby,’” Jenna said during a January 2023 Today episode.
“I remember feeling like I wanted to hide in it,” she said.
Jenna revealed that her mom, Laura Bush, explained that Jenna’s grandmother faced similar comments from her own family, saying, “Her mother said those types of things to her.”
“Her mother always thought of her sister as the really beautiful one and would say it. ‘Martha’s the pretty one, you’re the funny one, you’re the smart one. Martha’s this one, you’re that one,’” Jenna said. “Late in life, she said, ‘You know when I said those things to you, I was talking to myself.’”
“I didn’t wear a bikini for years,” Jenna admitted.
