Jenna Bush Hager stole the show on Today on Halloween when she made a spooktacular return to TV by performing the iconic routine from Dirty Dancing, less than three months after giving birth to her third child via C-section.
The 37-year-old has been on maternity leave since welcoming her son Henry Harold ‘Hal’ Hager on August 2, but on Thursday she was back with a bang when she stepped out into the Today show plaza with co-host Willie Geist to perform the routine made famous by Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze in the much-loved 1987 movie.
However, while the dancing duo pulled out all the stops in terms of their costumes – with Jenna donning a short curly wig to look more like the lead character of Baby – they stopped short of trying to attempt the infamous ‘lift’ that Swayze and Grey performed at the end of the movie.
Everybody dance Today! Jenna Bush Hager made a dramatic return to the Today show on Halloween to perform the iconic Dirty Dancing routine
Getting into it! The mother-of-three performed alongside co-host Willie Geist (left), with the pair dressing up as Dirty Dancing stars Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze (right) to put on the dynamic show
In the zone: Jenna, 37, and Willie, 44, did not attempt to perform the famous lift themselves, with Jenna joking that they didn’t want anyone to ‘throw out a back’
Shake it! The mother-of-three gave birth to her third child, son Henry Harold ‘Hal’ Hager, via C-section three months ago
Fooled ya! Instead of performing the famous lift move from the 1987 movie, Jenna ran out of the shot, and Willie lifted up a doll above his head instead
Instead, after doing the start of the routine, Jenna was lifted down from the stage by two helpers, and then ran out of shot, while Willie lifted up a Baby-shaped doll above his head.
Speaking about the routine shortly after performing, Jenna joked that she and Willie ‘didn’t want anyone to throw out a back’ by trying to pull of the move as a duo, with the mother-of-three happily posing alongside her stand-in, which was dressed in an identical pale pink frock and curly-haired wig.
‘What did you think of my performance?’ Jenna asked the doll, while Willie introduced the figurine as ‘Dina’.
‘She can’t talk but she liked it,’ Jenna added of Dina’s reaction to their dancing, prompting Willie to joke that the doll’s own performance ‘was a little bit wooden’.
But while Willie might not have been bowled over by Dina’s dance skills, Sheinelle admitted that the use of the doll worked to fool the rest of the Today team, at least for a few seconds.
‘You fooled everybody!’ Sheinelle said. ‘We were all waiting and then when you put the mannequin in…’
Up up and away! Although Jenna didn’t do the lift, she did get a chance to soar when she was helped down from the stage by two helpful Today staffers
Lean back: She and Willie did attempt to recreate as much of the beginning of the routine as possible however
Making it their own: Jenna and Willie might have put their own spin on some of the moves, but they certainly looked the part, wearing almost identical costumes to those modeled in the movie
That’s different: At one point, the pair threw in a few of their own more diverse dancing, with Willie resembling a scarecrow as he stuck his arms out to the side
But even though Jenna pulled the wool over everybody’s eyes, it didn’t stop them from celebrating her return to screens, with her co-host Hoda Kotb saying: ‘There is nothing better by the way than having Jenna Bush Hager back on the show.’
Jenna certainly seemed delighted to be back on screens after a near-three-month-long break from the show, joking that it was funny she was playing the part of Baby because she ‘left my baby just to be with y’all’.
However, although Jenna returned to Today especially for the Halloween celebration, she revealed later on in the show that she will not officially be back on full-time duty until November 11.
‘We are letting you know that Ms Jenna Bush Hager is coming back on November 11th,’ Hoda announced, while sitting alongside the mother-of-three and her dance partner Willie, who exclaimed: ‘That’s awesome.’
‘I can’t wait, I can’t wait,’ Jenna said. ‘We started the Hoda and Jenna show-‘
‘Without Hoda!’ Hoda chimed in, adding: ‘And then we completed it without Jenna!’
‘So this is going to be like a whole new start,’ Jenna said.
Mama’s got moves: The mother-of-three gave birth to her son, Henry Harold ‘Hal’ Hager, via C-section on August 2, and she has been on maternity leave ever since
Watch out! At one point, Jenna got so involved in the dancing that it looked as though her wig might fly off
Picture perfect: Rather than try to be serious, Jenna instead opted to pout jokingly for the cameras, while Willie went for a more somber expression
Gang’s all here! Jenna could be seen posing with her mannequin stand-in as the entire Today team gathered to show off their dance-inspired costumes
Flying high! Willie joked that the mannequin – which he named Dina – gave a ‘wooden performance’
Flipping brilliant: Jenna seemed to love her costume, and happily twirled the full skirt around her as she danced
‘I can’t wait until you come back,’ Hoda confessed. ‘I was so happy, I kept asking. I don’t know how you felt when I was gone, but I do remember thinking, “Oh my gosh this time flies by.”
‘And people have asked me on my book tour, “Are y’all going to get together and sit down!” I said, “It’s happening soon!”‘
Thus far, Jenna and Hoda have only done the show together five times, despite the fourth hour of Today being on the air for several months now.
During their respective maternity leaves, both Today stars have welcomed guest co-hosts, with Hoda sitting down alongside pregnant model Ashley Graham on Wednesday, which was also the expectant mother’s 32nd birthday.
However, both she and Jenna seem thrilled at the prospect to finally be reunited full-time on the air – despite Jenna having another 10 days of maternity leave to soak up before returning to Studio 1A.
The mother-of-three did get to enjoy the spooky celebration with her children however, revealing on Instagram that she brought them along to the studio so they could experience a Today Halloween.
Spot the difference! The pair kicked off the routine with the same arm lift that Swayze and Grey did in the original movie
Out there: However they soon started showing off their own unique style of dance
Practice makes perfect! Prior to the show’s live airing, Jenna was seen rehearsing in a robe
Posting on her Instagram Stories, Jenna shared a video of daughter Poppy, four, cuddling a baby backstage at the Today studio.
Jenna also shared several throwback snaps from previous years’ Halloween shows, sharing an image of herself dressed up as her grandmother Barbara Bush, as well as a photo of her, Savannah Guthrie and Meredith Viera wearing mom jeans back in 2014, when the Today show riffed different SNL skits with their costumes.
The proud mom also posted a few snaps of her daughters in their past Halloween costumes, from a sweet snap that showed a young Mila, now six, dressed as an owl, while hugging her baby sister, who was dressed as a bug, to an adorable photo of the siblings dressed up as sunshine and a rainbow.
She also paid tribute to her late grandfather, former President George H.W. Bush, by sharing a throwback photo of herself and her twin sister Barbara wearing some hilarious Halloween costumes, while posing alongside him.
The image, which appears to have been taken on Air Force One during Bush’s presidency, which ran from January 20, 1989 to January 20, 1993, shows Jenna dressed up as a packet of Juicy Fruit gum, while Barbara is in a full vampire costume, complete with a dark wig and bloody lips.
President Bush apparently failed to get the memo about it being a costume party, and is pictured in his signature suit, with Jenna joking in the caption: ‘Happy Halloween from a President, Juicy Fruit and a Vampire!!’
Memories! As well as showing off today’s costume, Jenna also shared a throwback snap of herself and twin sister Barbara as children dressed up as Juicy Fruit and a vampire while with their grandfather, former President George H.W. Bush
Jenna’s frightfully fun return to the Today show comes less than two months after she and her husband Henry Hager welcomed their third child together.
The Today host shared the happy news about their new arrival on Instagram at the time, sharing images of the proud parents cradling their newborn, while writing: ‘Welcome to the world my darling Henry Harold “Hal” Hager!
‘Hal come into the world Friday, August 2, 2019 at 9:02am and our life has never been sweeter.’
Having taken the time to celebrate with her family over the weekend, Jenna couldn’t wait to share the joyful news with her Today colleagues, making a teary appearance on the show the following Monday morning when she called in to celebrate her newest arrival with them.
‘I have a new baby boy! Henry and I met our little boy on Friday morning, so maternity leave happened at the perfect time’ she told Dylan Dreyer, Sheinelle, Savannah, Willie, and Natalie Morales, before revealing the sentimental meaning behind her newborn son’s name.
‘His name is Henry Harold named after my [maternal] grandpa, and Henry, of course, my husband, and we call him Hal’ she explained.