


Jenna Bush Hager was noticeably missing from Wednesday’s (March 20) broadcast of Today With Hoda & Jenna, though Hoda Kotb certainly tried to keep the good vibes going with Saturday Today co-anchor Laura Jarrett, who filled in for Bush Hager.
Kotb and Jarrett played a fun game after Kotb expressed that she wanted to get to know the Today newcomer better.
“We want to know Laura a little better, so we’re going to play spin the bottle,” she cheekily joked, before the pair launched into a game of Never Have I Ever.
During the game, Kotb actually gave a shout out to Bush Hager when she revealed that her co-host had recently set her up on a blind date.
“Jenna set it up, even though she’s never met the guy,” she said. “Jenna’s never met him, but it was through a friend of her’s who had met him… And I walked into the restaurant and there he was! Blind date.”
Kotb was decidedly tight lipped about sharing any other details from the date, but we at Decider can’t wait for Bush Hager to come back and clue us in on it.
It’s always a fun change of pace when Kotb is joined by a new co-host on Today, but we can’t help but wonder: Where is Bush Hager? Here’s what we know about why Bush Hager was missing from Today this morning.
Kotb did not share much about her co-host’s whereabouts, but she did announce at the top of the broadcast that “Jenna is off.”
Bush Hager recently missed a few days from the show in February because she was “feeling a little under the weather.”
She also vowed on a recent broadcast that she wouldn’t “take a day off” until next year after Kelly Rowland bailed on co-hosting the daytime show with Kotb, resulting in a big host mix-up behind the scenes.
“I was going to say, you’re not allowed! That’s the last day off in months,” Kotb told her at the time. So much for that!
Kotb did not clarify when Bush Hager will be back on the air, but we’re hoping it’s ASAP.
Today with Hoda and Jenna airs on weekdays at 10/9c on NBC.