Jenna Bush Hager Says Twin Sister Barbara ‘Makes Me Feel Brave and Empowered’ (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Bush Hager, November 2023.Photo:Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

Jenna Bush Hagercan always count on her twin sisterBarbara Bushfor a bit of inspiration!

Jenna Bush Hager, September 2023.Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Bush Hager, who was moderating a discussion with Mellors for Mellors' new novel,Blue Sisters, shares why the book was so inspiring to her as a sister and a reader,

“I mean, I think one of the themes that I’m always drawn towards in literature, really in life, is sisterhood,” the daytime talk show host says. “Because having a twin really has informed every decision I’ve ever made.”

She adds that without her sister, there is so much in life that she may not have attempted to do.

“I don’t think I’d have this job. I don’t know [that] I would’ve started this book club. She makes me feel brave and empowered, because she was my first audience. She was the first hand I held. And so I always felt supported, even when we were teens, and we threw shoes at each other’s head,” Bush Hager tells PEOPLE.

Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Bush Hager, November 2023.Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Bush Hager, who is an author herself, feltBlue Sisterswas completely relatable.

“I think the way that Coco describes sisterhood in such a real way, it’s not sugar coated. They’re not perfect, these sisters. TheBlue Sistershave some deep flaws, just like all of us do. And yet, they’re better when they find home within each other. And I love that. I love the concept of that,” she continues.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Bush Hager tells PEOPLE that she and her twin were “major readers” growing up, and still are today.

“I recommend books to her all the time. And she sends, well, she doesn’t send books to me,” Bush Hager says — but not because her sister doesn’t care.

“Because I can’t read anything else, because I have to work. But she’s reading a book I just sent her. She readBlue Sisters, and she loved it,” Bush Hager adds of the novel, which is her September 2024 Read with Jenna book club pick.

Jenna Bush Hager and George W. Bush, April 2021.Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

She and Bush are the daughters of former PresidentGeorge W. Bushand his wife, Laura Bush.

On the Monday, Sept. 23, broadcast ofToday with Hoda and Jenna, Bush Hager recalled a time she was moderating an event and her famous father, 78, teased her in front of former PresidentBarack Obama.

She was speaking at A&E and History Channel’s History Talk conversation when her dad took over and brought up one of her not-so-proud moments.

“I was with my parents which is already really hilarious because [of] the dynamic,” she said. “[He] was like, ‘Alright Jenna, why don’t you tell everybody about the time you were arrested?’ It was just an hour roast. I would ask questions,he would roast me a little. I would ask a question, slight roast.”

Later, Obama, 63, who “must have seen some of the roasting,” said to Bush Hager, “This must be hard for you.”

“And I said, ‘Yes it is,'” she told her co-hostHoda Kotb.

source: people.com