Jenna Bush Hager Says Dad George W. Bush Had to 'Take Care' of 'Heartbroken' Mom Barbara After His Sister Robin Died of Leukemia

Jenna Bush Hager recalled a story of her father George W. Bush's, grief.

The 44-year-old anchor reflected on an anecdote the former president told her from when he was a little boy on the Wednesday, October 28, episode of TODAY With Jenna and Sheinelle.

"When he was little, he lost his sister, Robin," Bush Hager told co-host Sheinelle Jones as they spoke about grief. "She died of leukemia."

She reflected on advice they had been given while anchoring the show and speaking with experts, which she felt related back to her father's heartbreaking childhood anecdote.

An expert told her that couples tend to be strong for one another at different times while going through hardship together, much like Barbara Bush and George H.W. Bush.

"When she was sick, my grandmother was the strong one and my grandfather was having a really hard time," Jenna explained of the former president and first lady.

"When she passed, my grandfather was the strong one, and my grandmother had a hard time," she added. "How they tried to balance it."

Her father felt the weight shift between his parents even as a 7-year-old kid, after the death of his beloved sister, who would have been 3 years old.

"He was walking home from school and a little boy said, 'Hey Georgie, wanna go play baseball?'" Jenna remembered her father telling her. "And his mom had the window open in Midland, Texas, she was far away from her family. She was suffering from serious heartbreak."

"And she heard my little, 7-year-old dad go, 'No, I gotta go take care of my mom,'" Jenna continued. "'I can't play today, I gotta go take care of my mom.'"

Jenna noted that the innocent exchange her grandmother overheard from her son immediately snapped her out of blinding grief.

"In that moment, my grandmother realized, 'What am I doing?'" she gushed. "She was completely heartbroken, but she realized she had to get out of bed."

George W., who seldom spoke about the tragic death of his younger sister, choked up while referring to her in his eulogy for his father in 2018.

George H.W. passed away at 94 after suffering from vascular Parkinsonism, seven months after Barbara died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure at 92.

"Let us know the blessings of loving you, a great and noble man," George W. said through tears at the time. "The best father a son or daughter could have, and in our grief, let us smile knowing Dad is hugging Robin and holding Mom’s hand again."