Jenna Bush Hager has opened up about how performing with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders inspired her to amp up her workout routine and get ‘back into fighting shape’ after having three kids.
The Today host, 40, got the motivation she needed last fall when she was told she and her co-star Savannah Guthrie, 50, would be dressing up as members of the iconic cheerleading squad for the morning show’s 2021 Halloween special.
‘I have to tell you, when your boss says you’re gonna be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader — and I grew up in Dallas — guess what? You try to get fit,’ she told Entertainment Tonight.
Jenna Bush Hager has detailed how performing with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders inspired to get ‘back into fighting shape.’ She’s pictured in August 2021 (L) and February 2022 (R)
The 40-year-old got motivated after being told she would be dressing up as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader for the Today show’s 2021 Halloween special
Bush Hager traveled to Dallas with Guthrie to train with the team’s cheerleaders ahead of the show, and all of their hard work paid off.
The Today stars went all out for the football-themed Halloween segment, during which they performed an energetic routine with actual Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.
They fit right in with tailor-made versions of the squads’ white and blue costumes, including their signature hot pants. To make the look a bit more demure, they opted for skin-colored bodysuits that concealed their stomachs and legs.
Bush Hager enjoyed the dance workouts so much that she decided to keep up with them while focusing on getting fit.
‘I’m continuing,’ she told ET. ‘It was time. I had three kids. My youngest is two. It’s just sort of the progression of getting back into fighting shape.’
While traveling to Dallas for her workouts was out of the question, she found the next best thing in New York City.
Bush Hager wore a tailor-made version of the cheerleaders’ white and blue costumes, including a more demure version of their signature hot pants
Bush Hager and her co-star Savannah Guthrie (R) had flown to Dallas to train with the team’s cheerleaders before performing a routine with them live on the morning show
‘I have friends who meet me a couple of days a week in my building and I work out with this incredible woman who was a [New York] Knicks dancer,’ she explained.
‘So, yes. There is dancing. There [are] ab workouts, which frankly [I] did not have an ab before we started doing it, but I found one little ab down in there.’
Bush Hager has also been mindful of her caloric intake, but she still has a soft spot for Mexican food, especially queso.
The former first daughter will have plenty of great food options next week when she and her fourth-hour co-host Hoda Kotb head to New Orleans, where they will be hosting live shows and attending the New Orleans Book Festival.
‘We get to do the thing we love together, which is eat and drink,’ she joked.
Bush Hager first detailed her six-month physical transformation on the Today show in January, revealing she has been working out with a personal trainer at the ‘crack of dawn.’
Bush Hager first detailed her six-month physical transformation on the Today show in January after her co-host Hoda Kotb noted viewers have been saying she’s ‘looking amazing’
The Today host shared that she has been working out with a personal trainer at the ‘crack of dawn’ before heading to the show. She is pictured in April 2021 (L) and January 2022 (R)
Bush Hager was the picture of confidence when she modeled a school girl-inspire look with black shorts and knee-high boots on the Today show in January
She was talking about new year’s resolutions when Kotb commended her on her appearance, saying viewers have been writing in about how great she looks.
‘Can I tell you something that I’ve noticed and our viewers have noticed over the past few weeks?’ Kotb said. ‘People have noticed that there’s like a transformation that’s been happening with you. You are — they are just saying, “Jen is looking amazing. She’s never looked this good.”‘
‘That’s so sweet,’ Bush Hager replied, but Kotb wasn’t done gushing.
‘Something is happening,’ she insisted. ‘I think for someone like you and me who constantly is berating and belittling, I think one of the things we should do in January is celebrate when something good happens. Celebrate it!’
Bush Hager, who welcomed her third child, Hal, in 2019, explained that getting back in shape has been a process for her.
‘I will say I think I have figured out what works for me,’ she said. ‘And I think the hard thing is I think we expect things to happen overnight. This has actually been almost six months.’
Bush Hager shared that Today contributor Donna Farizan (center) has been joining her early morning workouts, saying she is a ‘great inspiration’
Bush Hager and Kotb braved the cold to do a grueling open rooftop workout in below-freezing weather in February 2021
The mother of three credited her toned physique to her grueling early-morning workouts with her personal trainer.
‘The difference is I wake up before the show and work out — and really work out. I work out with an awesome woman named Amanda. Donna joins me sometimes,’ she said of Today contributor Donna Farizan.
‘Donna is a great inspiration,’ she added. ‘She gets up at the crack of dawn and meets me. And another friend of mine comes.’
While Bush Hager was feeling good, she admitted that it’s been a process. She encouraged others who are struggling with their weight to be kind to themselves.
‘Here’s the other thing — anybody that’s either gained weight during the pandemic or had babies and gained weight, it just takes time, and you have to give yourself that grace. Because my body isn’t 18 anymore,’ she said.
Bush Hager also shares two daughters — Mila, eight, and Poppy, six — with her husband Henry Hager.
In 2019, the Today hosts each stepped on the scale on the morning show. Bush Hager, who was 37 and three months postpartum, weighed 171.6 pounds while Kotb clocked in at 157.6 pounds
Bush Hager and her husband Henry Hager have three kids: Mila, eight, Poppy, six, and Hal, two. It was her mom, Laura Bush, who reminded her it takes two years to get in shape postpartum
It was her mother, former first lady Laura Bush, who reminded her that it takes her about two years to get back in shape post-baby.
‘She said, “Of course, you look like that now. Hal’s two and a half. It’s right about time. Give yourself that grace,”‘ she recalled.
‘I had three babies, so it’s going to look this way,’ she added. ‘Maybe just allow yourself the time.’
Back in 2019, the Today hosts each stepped on the scale on the morning show.
Bush Hager, who was 37 and three months postpartum, weighed 171.6 pounds while Kotb clocked in at 157.6 pounds.
Neither of them was happy about their weight at the time, but Bush Hager pointed out on the morning show in January that they have learned to embrace where they are at.
‘I think both of us, even though we’re not the thinnest, we’ve gotten used to “this is us,”‘ she told Kotb, who agreed.
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