When Jenna Bush Hager welcomed two very special guests to Today With Jenna & Friends — her twin sister, Barbara Bush, and their mother, former First Lady Laura Bush — viewers expected warmth, nostalgia, and a few stories from their extraordinary childhood. What they got instead was a heartfelt, often hilarious, and deeply honest conversation about motherhood, mistakes, and the unforgettable chaos of raising two teenage daughters in the public eye.

The appearance coincided with the release of Jenna and Barbara’s newest children’s book, I Loved You First, a project rooted in their shared memories and the parenting legacy passed down to them by George W. and Laura Bush. But before diving into the book’s themes, the conversation drifted — naturally — to their own teenage era, a period the sisters now look back on with a mixture of amusement and astonishment.

Jenna opened the segment by celebrating the unpredictable joy of raising kids. “Every stage is so wild,” she said brightly. Laura Bush, with the unshakable composure that defined her years as First Lady, instantly countered with a perfectly timed question: “And what stage is two 13-year-old girls?” The three burst into knowing laughter. It was a moment that said everything — without saying anything.

Jenna tried her best to rewrite history. “We were pleasant!” she insisted. Barbara quickly chimed in with the truth: “We were spicy.” Their mom didn’t disagree — not even slightly. Laura went on to recall a favorite quote from George W. Bush during the girls’ teen years: “I’m always gonna love you no matter what. Stop trying to make me not love you.” It was the kind of dry, deadpan one-liner only a parent of teenagers can deliver with perfect precision.

But beneath the humor, their story held something deeper. The Bush twins didn’t just navigate the normal turbulence of adolescence — they lived their teen years under relentless public scrutiny, especially once their father entered the White House. That reality resurfaced when Jenna revealed an old People magazine cover from June 2001 — the infamous one published after the twins were arrested for underaged drinking. The headline read: “Oops! They did it again.”

Jenna cringed and laughed at the memory, but she didn’t shy away from the truth. She had been caught twice for underage drinking, a painfully typical rite of passage complicated by an entirely atypical spotlight. The White House had called the incident a “private family matter,” but the media storm was immediate and intense. For most teens, mistakes fade quietly into memory. For Jenna and Barbara, they became national headlines.

And yet, sitting on the Today set decades later, both sisters expressed gratitude — not shame. “The absolute best blessing our parents gave us was the freedom just to be ourselves and to make mistakes,” Jenna reflected in a recent People interview. It was a striking statement, not only because of who their parents were but because of the pressure they faced as young women expected to embody perfection in a world that scrutinized their imperfections.

Barbara agreed, emphasizing how their upbringing shaped who they are now as mothers. Today, both women are raising young children in an era defined by technology, constant communication, and digital visibility — the very opposite of the more hands-off, imaginative, “go outside and explore” childhood they experienced in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Still, they are determined to bring elements of that quieter, freer world into their own homes.

Barbara described their parents’ style as “laissez-faire parenting,” a philosophy that embraced independence and adventure while still providing love and security. “Our parents were very around,” she said, “but we had a lot of freedom in terms of playing outside and exploring our neighborhood.”

Jenna is working hard to carry that mindset forward. She recently decided not to give her sixth-grade daughter, Mila, a cellphone — a choice that sets her apart from many parents today. “A lot of kids in her grade do,” Jenna said, “but we are waiting on that.” For her, the goal is to ensure her kids know how to communicate face-to-face, solve problems on their own, and experience the world with curiosity, not through constant screens.

One of Jenna’s fondest memories — and a major influence on her parenting — is the sense of magic her parents created for her and Barbara. Her voice softened as she recalled scavenger-hunt birthdays, bike rides with her dad running alongside, and countless small moments that made the world feel enchanted. “It’s both parents being part of their kids’ lives,” she said, “but also parents getting kid energy… seeing what they see because it’s hilarious and it’s fun.”

That nostalgia is exactly what inspired I Loved You First. The book is a poetic tribute to the connection between parent and child — a reminder of unconditional love, wonder, and the way generations pass down stories, lessons, and magic. Barbara described it as a “love letter” not only to their own children, but also to the parents who shaped their lives.

Ultimately, the segment wasn’t just about the Bush sisters’ past. It was about the universal, unchanging truth of parenthood: that every child — spicy, calm, curious, rebellious, stubborn, joyful — deserves love, room to grow, and the grace to make mistakes. And every parent deserves the chance to rediscover the world through their children’s eyes.

For Jenna and Barbara, that remains the greatest gift their parents ever gave them — and the one they now hope to pass on.