Father’s Day 2019 brought out Instagram well-wishes, Sunday celebrations, and many celebrities from the big and small screen reminiscing about their dads. The Today Show was no different. On Today with Hoda and Jenna last week, Jenna Bush Hager and Savannah Guthrie – sitting in for Hoda Kotb who’s enjoying maternity leave with her second daughter Hope – recalled some of the many words of wisdom they got from their dads in honor of Father’s Day.
Losing a dad at an early age
For Guthrie, Father’s Day has always been bittersweet since her dad, Charles Guthrie, died of a heart attack when she was only 16 years old. According to Today, she now sees this holiday as an opportunity to cherish her memories of him and reflect on the life lessons he taught her that she still applies on a regular basis. “Where I am right now is I love Father’s Day because I love to talk about my dad and I love to remember things about him,” Guthrie said.
Some of those things included hiswillingness to pass on wisdom. “He gave me lots of advice, and sometimesI’ve thought about it because he did pass away so young. He told me so manywise things that frankly at the time, in the moment, I don’t think I understoodfully,” Guthrie said. “And it’s almost as though he knew. Of course, he didn’tknow that he would die young, but it’s almost as though he was seeding me withlittle bits of knowledge that would come back to me.”
Guthrie recalled a specific incident when she was about 11 or 12 years old and went to the movies with her dad. She offered to try to pass as a 10-year-old child so they could get the discount on a movie ticket. “And my dad said, ‘No, I would never do that,”’ Guthrie remembered. “He said, ‘I would not sell my soul for a dollar.’ I didn’t really understand that in the moment, and then later when I thought about it, it really stuck with me because it was such a sort of profound thing to say… He was so moral, and it really made me think about it later like… you’re gonna cheat just to get a dollar off something? No way,”
Guthrie planned to celebrate Father’s Day with her husband, Mike Feldman, and their two children: daughter Vale, 4, and son, Charley, 2, who is named after her father.
The Commander-in-Chief has a sensitive side
Hager, daughter of 43rd President George W. Bush, shared that her dad has always been supportive, knowing when she would need encouragement. Like her dad, Hager has two daughters, Mila, 6, and Poppy, 3. She recalled a time when she was pregnant with her second daughter and was under a lot of stress due to work and other things that didn’t relate to family, her dad was there to boost her confidence.
“(My father) texted me thisbeautiful text that was like, ‘Jen, mom told me you called and you’re worriedabout this — that doesn’t matter,”’ Jenna said according to Today. “’I promise you. Whatmatters is what type of mom you are to Mila, and you’re a fantastic one, aboutthe baby you’re growing in you, how you treat others, the people that loveyou.’ I’ve gotten a lot of those texts and they feel good.”
Hager also commented on how shestruggled with body image during her childhood, but her father was alwaysgiving her positive messages. “He always tried to make it clear thatbeauty was on the inside and that to him, (twin sister) Barbara and I werebeautiful,” she said.
A dad missing his dad
Hager also noted that this Father’sDay would be tough for her dad since it was the first one since the death ofhis own father last November, President George H.W. Bush. “I know he’sprobably missing his dad,” Hager said.
Hager is expecting her third child.
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