‘I think it was such a good lesson’: Jenna Bush Hager admits her daughter clapping back over viral letter reading was important for her personal growth

Jenna Bush Hager knows a thing or two about being a famous kid and some of the pitfalls it entails (she is President George W. Bush’s daughter), so it’s all the more surprising that she read a letter from her daughter on TV. The ensuing blowback from her daughter Mila was not necessarily surprising, and now she’s revealing that the whole incident helped her grow as a person.

Bush Hager, who is the co-host of Today with Hoda & Jenna, recently talked to People about the whole ordeal, which happened about two years ago. On the show, she said she got a letter from her 8-year-old that shattered her heart into a million pieces.

The letter itself was fairly innocuous in terms of content but it was obviously very personal. In it, Mila said she misses her family “so much” and wants to come home. Here’s the letter:

“Dear Mom and Dad, I miss you. I wish I could be with you,” she read at the time. “P.S. Daddy, how much longer till you pick me up? I miss you too much. I need to stop crying. So goodbye. I miss you terribly, Mom and Dad.”

The result? Mila “was embarrassed. She was like, ‘Why would you share that? Why would you do that? Don’t ever do that again.'” About a year later, Mila came on the show and revealed her mother “never wears underwear.” Revenge!

That got her to a place of self reflection, because she realized just because she’s willing to share her life doesn’t mean her family is into that as well.

“I think what I’ve tried to reign in a little and just be more cognizant of what I share of others, what I talk about or post when it comes to my kids. They didn’t choose this work.”

Mila actually ended up falling in love with her camp experience, and Bush Hager said she didn’t really think about the repercussions.

“I just put it out there. People would stop me on the street and be like, ‘When are you going to get Mila?’ I’m like, ‘I was just reading a letter!’ Then, the camp called, they felt really bad. They were like, ‘Don’t worry, she’s happy.’ I was like, ‘No, it’s all okay.'”

This lesson helped her “realize that sometimes sharing other people’s stories, if they don’t want them shared, is something I had to work on.”

Bush Hager is mom to three kids: Mila, Poppy, and son Hal.