The ‘Today’ host shared viral TikToks from the daughter of a former Secret Service agent, saying she can relate to having a strict upbringing

Jenna Bush Hager in 2025: Jenna and Barbara Bush arriving at Gotham Hall for a celebratory event on the night of the Republican National Convention Finale.

Credit : Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty; Brian ZAK/Gamma-Rapho via Getty

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Jenna Bush Hager referenced her infamous teenage scandals while talking about her strange upbringing as the daughter and granddaughter of U.S. presidents
On the Today show, Bush Hager said she relates to TikToker Ashley Hicks’ viral videos about what it was like to grow up with a Secret Service agent for a father, because both of them were closely monitored
PEOPLE recently interviewed Hicks, who coincidentally said that her dad’s favorite president is probably George W. Bush

Jenna Bush Hager can sympathize with Ashley Hicks when it comes to having a strict upbringing.

Hicks recently went viral for her TikTok videos about growing up as the daughter of a Secret Service agent. Her anecdotes have included everything from her dad’s best safety tips — like never sitting with your back toward the door of a restaurant — to the normal-kid things she couldn’t get away with thanks to her dad’s intense training.

In one post, she recounted coming home from a night out as a teen. She’d made curfew, Hicks said, but she had been drinking. From across the room, she recalled, her dad asked, “You think that gum is going to mask what you’ve been up to?”

“It just felt like that was a normal way to grow up,” Hicks told PEOPLE in a recent interview about her newfound fame.

Bush Hager reacted to Hicks’ stories on Monday’s Today show, joking, “Listen, Ashley. I, too, couldn’t get away with much because I was followed by men with fanny packs that were concealing things.”

Laura Bush, Jenna Bush and George H. W. Bush during 2004 Republican National Convention - Day 4 - Inside at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States.

Jenna Bush Hager between her mother, Laura Bush, and grandfather George H.W. Bush at the 2004 RNC.Carley Margolis/FilmMagic

The former first daughter, who turned 19 days after the 2000 election, had a tumultuous time in the spotlight during her father, George W. Bush’s eight years in office. She and her twin sister, Barbara Pierce Bush, frequently faced scrutiny — including for partying as college students.

Today co-host Craig Melvin teased Bush Hager on the show Monday, saying, “I recall reading articles many years ago about you getting away with a fair amount.”

But both Bush twins faced minor legal consequences for their actions, as Bush Hager playfully reminded Melvin. “I was arrested! There’s a mugshot that says I didn’t get away with it.”

Bush Hager was charged with a misdemeanor for possession of alcohol in April 2001 while attending the University of Texas at Austin. A month later, she was charged again with another misdemeanor for trying to use a fake ID. She pleaded no contest to both charges.

In addition to their uniquely similar upbringings, Bush Hager also shares something heartwarming in common with Hicks.

When asked what question about her father she gets asked the most, Hicks told PEOPLE that folks often wonder if her dad — who worked for 25 years under several presidential administrations — had a favorite president.

While acknowledging that all presidents “treat Secret Service agents really well,” she answered, “I think he would say President George W. Bush, just because he spent the longest amount of time as his special agent.”