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Jenna gets teary as Hoda recalls the 1st time she said she was a mom

"Just to say the words out loud ... it was so moving," Hoda said.
/ Source: TODAY

The moment happened four years ago, but it still brings tears to Hoda Kotb's eyes when she remembers it.

Jenna Bush Hager also couldn't help but wipe away her own tears on TODAY Tuesday when Hoda recalled the first day she woke up as a mother at 52 years old after she and her fiancé Joel Schiffman adopted their daughter, Haley Joy, in 2017.

Hoda recalled running to a nearby drugstore to buy milk when a simple question from a stranger brought a rush of joy.

"People always, first question (is) 'Do you have kids?' That's the first question, and I always say 'Oh my nieces, I love them so much,' I always talk about my nieces," Hoda said. "And literally I dead stopped when that woman asked me, 'Do you have kids?' And I looked at her and I go, 'Yeah, I do.' Like I couldn't believe I was saying it, I was like 'Yes, I have a daughter, yes.'

"And just to say the words out loud, we're talking about like saying something out loud, it was so moving."

Jenna, who is a mother of three, grew emotional at the thought of that special moment after remembering the "adrenaline and exhaustion" and "excitement" of when she had her first child, Mila, who is now 8 years old.

She also recalled how her twin sister, Barbara, who does not have children, often deals with the same question Hoda had been asked many times over the years. She has sat by Barbara's side at public events on stage and watched as her sister was asked if she has children.

"I felt like her pain because she wants them, I'm sure," Jenna said.

That simple question became one of happiness for Hoda after she welcomed Haley and then later adopted her younger daughter, Hope, in 2019.

"I'm sure what was a question that can hurt, all of a sudden ..." Jenna said about the change.

"You were like, so thrilled to say out loud," Hoda confirmed.

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