Barbara Bush has admitted that she wants to die at the “same time” as her twin sister, Jenna Bush Hager, because of their “otherworldly” connection.
The twin siblings, 43, were featured in Deborah Roberts‘ new book, “Sisters Loved and Treasured: Stories of Unbreakable Bonds.”
In the book, the sisters reflected on their childhood and how growing up in Texas as the daughters of former President George W. Bush, 79, and his wife, Laura Bush, made their bond tighter.
Barbara noted that she and Jenna were “constantly together,” adding that her twin quickly became “the partner who was always next to me.”
“We tried to fit in the world in a way that would be stable for both of us,” Barbara said.
And because they did everything together growing up, the siblings are hoping they can also die together too.
“And frankly, I don’t mean to be morbid, but I hope we die at the same time. I’ve never known the world without Jenna in it, and I would be devastated to be in it without her.
“It’s an otherworldly connection. We were in the womb together. It feels primal in some ways,” Barbara said.
This isn’t the first time the sisters have gushed about their close bond. Jenna—who co-hosts “Today With Jenna & Friends”—previously told People that her sibling has helped her with her decision making, before crediting her with her TV show success.
“She makes me feel brave and empowered, because she was my first audience. She was the first hand I held. And so I always felt supported, even when we were teens and we threw shoes at each other’s head,” Jenna said at the time.
Jenna previously shared some insight into her life in the White House, revealing how her husband, Henry Hager, landed himself in some very hot water with his then-future mother-in-law while staying at the White House ahead of their 2008 wedding.
Jenna opened up about the incident during a recent episode of “Today With Jenna & Friends,” explaining that she had moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with her parents before tying the knot—and had invited Henry, 47, to stay with her at Christmastime.
“I lived with my parents for a very brief period because I’d written a book and I was on book tour, and I was going to move in with Henry before we got married,” she explained.
The TV host—who now shares three children with Henry—recalled how they had enjoyed a night on the town before returning to the White House, only to be met by a very upset Laura in the morning.
“My mom came in [to our room]—we may have been out the night before—and my mom came in and said, ‘Henry, I know what you did,’” she recounted, adding that Laura’s unusually stern demeanor left Jenna’s partner stunned.
Imitating her mother’s furious tone, Jenna revealed that Laura told Henry: “I know what you did. You took Joseph.”
She added that Henry was left flabbergasted by the accusation, admitting that he had no clue what Laura was talking about.
Eventually, they got to the root of the issue, with Laura going on to explain that the White House staff had been packing up the nativity scene from that year’s official decorations, but had been unable to find the figure of Joseph.
“My mom thought Henry had come in after a couple beers and stolen Joseph,” Jenna revealed. “And he said, ‘On my word, I did not take Joseph, I promise you I didn’t.’ And my mom goes, ‘No, I know you did. I know you took Joseph.’”
Eventually, staffers found the figure “under a bureau somewhere,” proving Henry’s innocence and refuting Laura’s “false accusation.” However, Jenna said she learned a very clear lesson from the incident: Her parents were ready for her and Henry to move into a home of their own.
“What that said was, ‘Y’all gotta get out of here. I’m tired of you getting in late. You could have done something like stolen Joseph and I’m getting grumpy with your towels on the ground and such,'” Jenna explained.
Fortunately, Jenna and Henry tied the knot just a few months later at the family’s 1,600-acre Texas ranch—and it seems that the tension between Laura and her son-in-law had evaporated by the time the big day rolled around.
Jenna, who attended the University of Texas in Austin during her father’s first White House term, moved to New York City in 2010 to be closer to Barbara, who was already living in the Big Apple.
Then, in 2022, she and her husband swapped city life for a suburban property in Connecticut, where they have lived with their three children—Mila, 12, Poppy, 9, and Hal, 6—ever since.
Jenna is already eyeing up her next move—explaining during an August episode of “Today With Jenna & Friends” that she has a “dream” of relocating to Texas in a bid to give her children a more normal life.
The host, who took over the fourth hour of “Today” when her former co-anchor, Hoda Kotb, stepped down from her decades-long role at NBC in January, noted that she has a particular fondness for Austin, where she and her sister lived while her father served as the governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.
For many years, the Hagers were neighbors with Jenna’s co-star Savannah Guthrie before they made the decision to move to Connecticut—putting their Tribeca condo on the market for $5.4 million in 2022.
The property sold in October of that year for the much lower price of $4.9 million.
Jenna and Henry moved into a stunning six-bedroom property in Fairfield County. They have worked hard to keep details of the home’s location under wraps.
Before moving out to Connecticut, the couple also owned a weekend house in Long Island, where they would base themselves during the summer, with Jenna making the commute into the city for her filming obligations as needed.
Speaking about their decision to purchase that home, Jenna admitted that she fell in love with the dwelling because it made her think of her home state, telling Veranda magazine in 2019: “There was something about it that reminded me of Texas, of being outside.
“Even this close to the city, there was a remoteness to it.”