Jenna Bush Hager has found her groove on Today With Jenna & Friends and fans have been loving seeing her with different guest cohosts each week. But how long will the show continue on in this format before a permanent cohost is chosen?
The former first daughter reflected on her first few months without Hoda Kotb on Today’s fourth hour and if the show will continue its current format.
“Every day it changes,” Jenna, 43, told Us Weekly in a March 12 interview. “It also has been a really good lesson in living in the present. It’s, like, I actually have no idea what this show is going to look like. We are booked through basically the spring and early summer, so yeah, I guess I have some idea of what it’s going to look like through the spring. But after that we’re, like, could we have a permanent cohost? Sure. Could we keep doing this? Sure.”
While she hinted that a decision could be reached in a few months, the Sisters First author assured viewers that she has been loving the show’s new format.
“It’s kind of fun because obviously, after almost six years of doing the show with somebody who I adored so much, I knew what every single day was going to look like to some extent,” she reflected. “I had this real constant and a partner. So it’s kind of fun to be like, OK, what’s going to happen tomorrow? I have no idea what’s going to happen in June. I have no idea. And it’s been a lot. It’s a lot of work and it’s a lot of fun.”
So far, many famous faces have sat next to Jenna at the news desk on Today With Jenna & Friends, including Dwayne Wade, Eva Longoria, Ciara, Scarlett Johansson, Willie Geist, Justin Sylvester and Olivia Munn, as well as Jenna’s husband, Henry Hager.
While Hoda, 60, is no longer a cohost on Today, she has been giving Jenna some advice about leading the program to success.
“She’s giving feedback,” Jenna, who is a mom of three, told E! News in a March 27 interview. “She’s so supportive. You all know Hoda, she’s like the most supportive, amazing force. But she definitely is like, ‘OK, that was great’ or ‘this is great.’ She definitely has opinions, which I love. I care about what she thinks.”
Jenna said that she understood that Hoda’s reasoning to leave the show was to spend more time with her two kids.
“It was a really good lesson in saying goodbye because I was so sad,” the TV personality reflected on Hoda’s exit from the long-running talk show. “It was almost unthinkable that she wouldn’t be here.”
“It’s been three months, which I cannot believe,” Jenna added of her time leading Today With Jenna & Friends. “I’ve sat next to now 21 different people and it’s been a really fun journey. It’s brought our team really close together. I’m obsessed with everybody I work with and I really love where I work. So, it’s kind of a lesson in making sure you tell the people you love you love them.”
