Jenna Bush Hager Recalls Throwing a Steve Madden Shoe at Sister Barbara’s Head as a Teen: ‘I Feel So Bad’

Mar. 15, 2025

Barbara Pierce Bush (left) and Jenna Bush Hager.Photo:Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

The Bush family in 2008.Shealah Craighead/The White House via Getty

Shealah Craighead/The White House via Getty

“I feel so bad about it, but it’s so interesting because I do think our sisterhoods, our siblinghoods, do affect the relationships we choose later,” Bush Hager said. “If you have a partner, a sister that makes you feel brave and empowered, then you’re going to hopefully find that in a partner later in life.“At the event, which was also in collaboration with Threads’ reading community BookThreads, Bush Hager told PEOPLE that she was particularly drawn to Mellors’ novel because of its family dynamics. The book follows three sisters who are mourning the recent death of their fourth sibling, and who return to the New York City apartment where they grew up.

“I mean, I think one of the themes that I’m always drawn towards in literature, really in life, is sisterhood,” Bush Hager said. “Because having a twin really has informed every decision I’ve ever made.”The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!During her discussion with Mellors, Bush also shared that one of the inspirations forBlue Sisters, Louisa May Alcott’s classic novelLittle Women, also held sentimental meaning to her.

Jenna Bush Hager on June 12, 2024.Nathan Congleton/NBC/Getty

Nathan Congleton/NBC/Getty

“The reason I love this book so much is my grandma, Jenna, whom I’m named after, who grew up in a small town in west Texas, did not graduate from college, but loved to read,” Bush Hager said. “I think she secretly wanted to be Jo, but the circumstances weren’t that way for her. But [she] loved to read [and] read that book to me. Sometimes you’re like, ‘Why does a book hit you so hard?’ I was like, ‘This reminds me so much ofLittle Women, and those strong sisters.’”

source: people.com