Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones Reveal Their Fathers' Surprising Connection 17 Years Before They Co-Hosted “Today”'s Fourth Hour

Rachel McRadyWed, March 4, 2026 at 5:25 PM UTC

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Sheinelle Jones (L) and Jenna Bush Hager on 'Today'Credit: Today -

Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones’ fathers share a connection that dates back to 2008

The 'Today' show co-hosts began leading the NBC morning show's fourth hour together in January

Sheinelle joined Jenna as co-host after a year of guest co-hosts following the departure of Hoda Kotb

Since January, Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones have been working side-by-side co-hosting the fourth hour of Today, now titled Today with Jenna & Sheinelle.

The two NBC veterans have bonded over parenting, pop culture and social dilemma topics on the show, but their history actually goes back much further.

While chatting about Jones’ new feature in Philadelphia Magazine on Wednesday, March 4, the co-hosts discussed their own fathers’ interesting connection, a topic brought up in the profile.

“Our fathers are connected, kind of,” Bush Hager said, referencing her dad, former President George W. Bush, and Jones’ father, Judge C. Darnell Jones.

“So crazy, so her father nominated my father to the federal bench,” Shenielle shared. “So my father’s a federal judge — can you say retired when you’re a federal judge? — I don’t know. He’s a federal judge. He ended up going through in the [Barack] Obama years, but it was her father that put it in motion.”

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Supreme Court candidate C. Darnell Jones II (L) and former President George W. Bush (R)Credit: Tim Leedy/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty; Cooper Neill/Getty

Bush Hager said she was aware of the connection, noting, “You told me that once over many a margarita. Isn’t that a wild story? Who could have ever predicted that? I think the world is a weird and wonderful place.”

Sheinelle’s father was nominated by Bush Hager’s father in July 2008 for a seat as a federal judge.

While both journalists have been with NBC for years, they only began co-hosting their talk show in January. Former co-host Hoda Kotb exited Today in January 2025, and for a year, Bush Hager welcomed a rotating slate of celebrity guest co-hosts on her show, Today with Jenna & Friends.

Sheinelle Jones and Jenna Bush Hager on Sept. 27, 2023Credit: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Sheinelle returned to Today in September 2025 after an extended absence following the death of her husband, Uche Ojeh, who died in May 2025 of glioblastoma. In December 2025, it was announced that Sheinelle would be Bush Hager’s official co-host.

"Sheinelle also grew up partly in Kansas. I grew up in Texas,” Bush Hager told PEOPLE of her co-host in January. “Her shared frame of reference is so similar, our kids are similar ages. She was in this beautiful marriage. So, we have all of these things that are in common and this shared perspective. And so it's really fun to sit next to somebody where you can learn from them and grow with them when we're in similar stages of life.”

on People

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