Why Jenna Bush Hager calls Hoda Kotb ‘Dad’

Jenna Bush Hager has a special nickname for her TODAY co-host Hoda Kotb, and it shows how tight knit they really are.

"I call her 'Dad,'" Jenna said on TODAY With Hoda & Jenna on April 11, filmed in New Orleans to celebrate the 5-year anniversary of their show.

"Because she's my partner, no, because she's early to everything, always early, and she just reminds me of my father," Jenna said of her dad, former President George W. Bush.

"I'm like, 'Dad says we can't drink too much,'" joked Jenna. "'Dad says put the vodka down.' But guess what? Dad wasn't out the night we got here."

"Dad goes wild here," admitted Hoda, adding, "Why am I Dad? I'm not embracing this."

Jenna continued, "You weren't Dad that night. Hoda took a shot. We went into a dive bar and they were yelling, 'Shots!' and before I even knew it, Hoda was in there pounding something. And then we danced."

The city opened its doors to the TODAY co-hosts for their two-day stay.

"How many times have you heard 'Welcome home?'" Jenna asked Hoda.

In the 1990s, when she was a local reporter, Hoda lived in the French Quarter.

“New Orleans has a heartbeat. It is alive. When the city celebrates, we celebrate, and when the city hurts, we hurt. It has a soul. That’s how I would describe New Orleans,” Hoda shared in a video for Southern Living in 2023. “I want Haley and Hope to know that they have another place to call home.”

Hoda and ex-partner Joel Schiffman share daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4.

“I want them to understand that when they get off the plane and they walk into the city, they’re going to get a warm embrace,” she told the outlet. “I want so badly for this to be part of their lives because it’s such an important part of mine.”

Jenna, mother of Mila, 10, Poppy, 8, and Hal, 4, with her husband Henry Hager, also loves New Orleans.

This isn't the first time that the duo visited New Orleans in their 5-year run. In 2023, Jenna and Hoda visited "The Big Easy" to tape their show and enjoy Jazz Fest, an annual festival to honor the music, food and sights that make New Orleans special.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com