NEWSJenna Bush Hager Confesses Her Son Licks Her 'Like a Cat' to Show Affection: 'He Loves Me, What Can I Say'
Jenna Bush Hager revealed the strange way her son show affection.
June 24 2026, Published 4:38 p.m. ET
Jenna Bush Hager revealed the odd way her 6-year-old son Hal likes to show her his affection.
The mom-of-three explained her son's strange behavior on the June 24 episode of TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle.
Bush Hager and her co-host, Sheinelle Jones, opened up the show with a conversation about public displays of affection and how they prefer to receive kisses and hugs from loved ones.
Jenna Bush Hager explained that her 6-year-old son licks her head like a cat.
Jones recalled receiving big, wet kisses from members of her church growing up and hating the feeling of them.
"I don't mind a kiss from anyone," she explained. "But when it's wet I just..."
"As soon as they would release us for the benediction, I would run because I knew certain people would try to kiss me," Jones added.
But it doesn't seem that Bush Hager minds it as much. Especially from her son.
"He likes to lick my forehead like a cat," Bush Hager revealed. She explained that he adopted the mannerism from their family pets.
"We have cats," she added. "And not on my mouth — you guys, don't get all freaky."
Jenna Bush Hager explained that it's difficult to stop her son's strange tendency.
Jones still wasn't too fond of the idea, likening Bush Hager's son to a "cub" and questioning why she doesn't put a stop to this untraditional display of affection.
"And you just let him?" Jones asked.
"Well, no," Bush Hager said. "I say, 'Please don't lick me. Please stop licking me.' But sometimes it doesn't work. He loves me, what can I say?"
"I love that kid," Jones quipped.
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Who Are Jenna Bush Hager's Kids?
Jenna Bush Hager has three children with her husband, Henry Hager.
Bush Hager shares three children with her husband, Henry Hager. The couple married in 2008 in Crawford, Texas.
Their eldest daughter, Mila, was born in 2013. Poppy, their middle child, was born in 2015. And their only son, Hal, made his appearance in 2019.
After her son was born, Bush Hager admitted that his birth was a "special one."
"I'm enjoying him so much." she said. "I enjoyed all my kids, to be honest, but he is the special little boy and feels slightly different. He feels like this little love, so I'm just adoring him constantly."
'Things Are Falling Apart'
Jenna Bush Hager gets candid about parenting while being a working mom.
She admitted during a May 2026 episode of the Today show that she often gets so busy with work, she feels like she neglects to focus on her children.
"I have been working a lot because this has been shooting, and then I’ve had these big interviews and then all the book stuff," the journalist tearfully confessed. "And so this morning when I woke up, I thought, ‘OK, the next couple weeks, the next couple months, it’s like kid-focused.'"
“We’re OK,” the 44-year-old added, wiping away her tears. “It may look like everything’s great, but things are falling apart.”
Bush Hager has frequently gotten candid about parenthood and told heartwarming stories about her children on the Today show. She has spoken about being devoted to making sure each of her young kids "has the love that I know I feel for them," reported People.
