Jenna Bush Hager Admits She Cried ‘Little Tears’ When Dropping Daughters Mila and Poppy Off at Sleepaway Camp

Jenna shares daughters Mila, 11, and Poppy, 8, and son Hal, 4, with husband Henry Hager.

Jenna Bush Hager’s house is getting close to an empty nest this summer.

On Monday, July 8, the mom of three, 42, chatted with co-host Hoda Kotb, 59, on an episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna about the emotional weekend she had after dropping off both her daughters Mila, 11, and Poppy, 8, at summer camp in Texas.

“I dropped both of the girls at the bus,” the news anchor explains, adding that she had “little tears under my big sunglasses.”

As a first-time camper, Poppy shared many concerns about his summer ahead. “Poppy was like, ‘But what about the spiders in the bathroom?’ and I was like, ‘You’re going to become friends with the spiders in the bathroom,’” Bush Hager recalled. “She’s like, ‘But what about the heat?’ I’m like, ‘It’s going to become normal to you … it’s hot there.”

An experienced camper herself, Mila was happy to step up as the helpful big sister, telling Poppy, “Okay, so here’s what you do, Poppy,” before explaining that drinking Sprite in the Texas heat will make her feel sick.

Although the Today co-host was happy to send her kids to the same camp she attended as a child, the mom of three told Kotb, “I feel like two of my three hearts are far away from me.”

Bush Hager shares her two girls and son Henry “Hal” Harold, 4, with her husband Henry Hager.

Not only is Mila a great big sister, but Bush Hager recently shared that the pre-teen has some impressive makeup skills. On the Wednesday, June 19 episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, Bush Hager shared that her 11-year-old has somehow acquired excellent makeup skills.

“Isn’t it weird how early kids are now wearing makeup though? Isn’t it strange?” Kotb began the conversation. “The strange thing about one of my children, like Mila Hager is very good at makeup. Very good,” Hager replied. “She’s probably good at art. She can draw,” Kotb added. “Well they both are artists but she’s good at it. I would let her do my makeup,” Bush Hager insisted.