Jenna Bush Hager 'Busted' for Throwing Away Daughter's Dance Trophy: 'A Lesson That Things Are Not Important'

Mar. 15, 2025

Jenna Bush Hager daughters.Photo:Jenna Bush Hager/Instagram

Jenna Bush Hager/Instagram

Jenna Bush Hagerturned her mom mess-up into an important lesson for her girls.On the Thursday, Aug. 15 episode ofToday, the co-host, 42, shared that she recently threw away one of her daughter’s dance trophies during “a major clean out” while her girlsPoppy, 9, andMila, 11, were away at sleepaway camp.“You know, when I feel out of sorts,” Bush Hager began, “I just throw things away.“The mom of three then paused before revealing, “I got busted.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“There was a trophy — I didn’t know they wanted it. It was for a dance,” Bush Hager explained, adding that the award was only for participation. “It was like, ‘You danced! So you get a trophy,’ " she joked.“And you tossed it?” her co-hostHoda Kotbasked.“Yeah,” Bush Hager admitted. “I tossed it. I got in there and really went to work.“Kotb then supplied Bush Hager with some words of wisdom. “You now what?” she said, “I think you’re teaching your kids a lesson that things are not important.“Thankfully, Bush Hager said her kids quickly forgot about the mishap. “Four seconds later, they didn’t even want that.“The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!This isn’t the first time Bush Hager has admitted to throwing away something special of her daughter’s. In May 2023,Mila gave her mother a scoldingregarding the issue.“I learned something last night,” Bush Hager said. “I was putting Mila to bed and she said, ‘I have to talk to you about something.'““I said, ‘Yes?’ ‘I know that you threw out my mirror that I made at camp. And I saw it in the trash can. I don’t appreciate it and I talked to Poppy the other day at breakfast, and she doesn’t appreciate that you throw out our art, so stop,’ ” Bush Hager recounted.“‘Now if you see a piece of paper and it has scribble on it, you can throw it out, but the things that are precious to Poppy and me, you’re hurting our feelings.'”

Jenna Bush Hagerturned her mom mess-up into an important lesson for her girls.

On the Thursday, Aug. 15 episode ofToday, the co-host, 42, shared that she recently threw away one of her daughter’s dance trophies during “a major clean out” while her girlsPoppy, 9, andMila, 11, were away at sleepaway camp.

“You know, when I feel out of sorts,” Bush Hager began, “I just throw things away.”

The mom of three then paused before revealing, “I got busted.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“There was a trophy — I didn’t know they wanted it. It was for a dance,” Bush Hager explained, adding that the award was only for participation. “It was like, ‘You danced! So you get a trophy,’ " she joked.

“And you tossed it?” her co-hostHoda Kotbasked.

“Yeah,” Bush Hager admitted. “I tossed it. I got in there and really went to work.”

Kotb then supplied Bush Hager with some words of wisdom. “You now what?” she said, “I think you’re teaching your kids a lesson that things are not important.”

Thankfully, Bush Hager said her kids quickly forgot about the mishap. “Four seconds later, they didn’t even want that.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

This isn’t the first time Bush Hager has admitted to throwing away something special of her daughter’s. In May 2023,Mila gave her mother a scoldingregarding the issue.

“I learned something last night,” Bush Hager said. “I was putting Mila to bed and she said, ‘I have to talk to you about something.'”

“I said, ‘Yes?’ ‘I know that you threw out my mirror that I made at camp. And I saw it in the trash can. I don’t appreciate it and I talked to Poppy the other day at breakfast, and she doesn’t appreciate that you throw out our art, so stop,’ ” Bush Hager recounted.

“‘Now if you see a piece of paper and it has scribble on it, you can throw it out, but the things that are precious to Poppy and me, you’re hurting our feelings.'”

source: people.com