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Jenna Bush Hager's worst first date ever 'involved Secret Service' and husband, Henry

Despite the rocky start, Jenna and Henry ended up tying the knot in 2008.
Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager laugh on the set of TODAY
Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on Feb. 20, 2020.Nathan Congleton / NBC
/ Source: TODAY

Just about everyone has a worst first date story, but most of us can agree that they don’t typically involve the United States Secret Service.

Former first daughter and current TODAY co-host Jenna Bush Hager opened up in a segment on Monday about Single’s Appreciation Day, which is February 15. It's also known as Single's Awareness Day.

TODAY’s Hoda Kotb asked Jenna about her worst first date ever and boy, did the story deliver.

“My worst first date involved the Secret Service, let’s just leave it at that, “Jenna said, laughing. “It was with Henry (Hager) and his car ran out of gas and went backwards and hit the Secret Service.”

She explained that they were in Arlington, Virginia, where her now-husband was living at the time. He had realized he was running out of fuel, so he tried to get to a corner gas station that was up a slight hill.

“He started to go up the hill and then booooop, crash,” Jenna chuckled as Hoda gasped.

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“Were you scared or laughing?” Hoda asked her.

“I was laughing but he was horrified,” Jenna replied.

Hoda tried to get out of giving up her worst date experience but finally explained that it had happened on New Year’s Eve.

“I was so excited, I got all dressed up, I never felt prettier in my life than in that moment and he showed up wearing jeans and a T-shirt,” she said. “He was like, ‘Come over, we’re going to my house,’ and I was like, ‘Ew,’ and there were a bunch of guys wrestling a German shepherd and I sat on the edge of a chair and was like, ‘This is the worst New Year’s Eve.’”

“Wrestling a German shepherd?!” Jenna asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, it was like guys being like, ‘Bro! Let’s get more beer!’ and then I went home,” Hoda replied.

Things worked out okay for both Hoda and Jenna though! Despite the incident with the Secret Service, Jenna ended up marrying Henry Hager in 2008 and they have three kids together, Mila, 7, Poppy, 5, and Hal, 1.

As for Hoda, she is engaged to her longtime partner, Joel Schiffman, and the two are planning a wedding, despite the pandemic postponing their original plans.