Jenna Bush Hager Had to 'Prove' Herself on the 'Today' Show After Co-Worker's 'Nepotism' Comments: 'We Thought They Hired You Because of Your Dad'

Jenna Bush Hager reflected on the judgment she received from a Today show co-worker when she was first hired after her father, George W. Bush, was in the White House.

The 44-year-old opened up about the "nepotism" allegations on the Wednesday, August 12, episode of her morning show TODAY With Jenna and Sheinelle.

"I wouldn't have been given this opportunity [if it weren't for my parents] and I know that," Bush Hager began. "We have privilege, and we know that and you can own that."

Bush Hager began hosting regular segments on the Today show in 2009 before transitioning to a full-time co-host a decade later, next to network veteran Hoda Kotb.

Coming fresh off of a teaching career, Bush Hager remembered she was still trying to learn the ropes a couple of months into her new anchoring gig.

"I didn't know anything," she recalled. "And a correspondent said to me, 'We just thought they hired you because of your dad,' and that's everybody's fear that has this [nepotism]."

The mom-of-three admitted she first appeared on the show due to the former president and first lady.

"I was on the show because my dad was president," she clarified. "I wrote a book in 2006; I was on the show. And then my mom and I wrote a book like nine months later, and she guest-hosted."

Bush Hager even went as far as to claim that she was offered an interview to become a mainstay on the network because of her father's presidency.

"They kept calling," she remembered. "...They asked me to come work and I said 'no,' because I was a teacher. And I kept teaching for several years and then, as we all know, teaching is the hardest job."

Though she was offered the gig, the host felt that unlike her colleagues, she had so much to prove.

Bush Hager revealed that to "get over" the impression that she was handed opportunities because of her esteemed parents, she started to "work like crazy."

At this point in her career, the anchor admitted she feels she's done enough to prove that she earned her own place at the news desk.

"I think I've done that now," she declared. "I feel lucky to be here and I also feel like I needed to prove it."

Her co-host, Sheinelle Jones, quickly agreed with her assessment and gushed over Bush Hager's work ethic.

"The beautiful thing about this show is we're watching it in real time and everybody has watched you grow," she explained. "...and now you're in your boss era."