There’s nothing quite like having a work bestie, especially for those who still work outside the home and may spend as many waking hours — if not more — with their co-workers as they do with family. The hosts of The Today Show definitely give off that BFF energy, but I never realized just how close they really are until Carson Daly and Jenna Bush Hager’s sweet admission on Today with Jenna & Friends.
Carson Daly was thrilled to be one of Jenna Bush Hager’s guest hosts on the fourth hour of The Today Show, which airs on the 2025 TV schedule weekdays on NBC. The Voice host had nothing but glowing things to say about his colleague, telling her, “I love you to death,” before describing her as a badass, smart and an incredible mother. This relationship apparently doesn’t end when the cameras stop rolling, as Bush Hager revealed how close their families are, saying:
Carson, we’ve had so many fun times with our families, so much so that my kids thought, for a period of time, that Carson’s kids were cousins. They were like, ‘When are the cousins coming?’ I’m like, ‘Which cousins?’ They were like, ‘You know, London.’ I’m like, ‘She’s not your cousin.’
That is absolutely adorable, and really shows how much time their kids must have spent together. Perhaps the biggest proof that The Today Show anchors are friends outside of the office, though, is the way they “bust each other’s chops” (much like Carson Daly’s rivalry with Blake Shelton), which he called his and Jenna Bush Hager’s “love language.”
After the former first daughter declared Carson Daly “the most fun guy on staff,” he quickly countered by wondering why, if that were the case, she’d welcomed “57 other guest hosts” before him.
It’s not just these two who are such good friends, the former TRL VJ said, but everyone you see on the NBC morning show. Those relationships aren’t something you can fake for the cameras, he said, continuing:
We get that a lot. People are like, ‘You really seem to get along with the people on the air at The Today Show,’ and I say, ‘You have no idea.’ You know, you can’t fake the funk. We vacation together, like this group that we have, this incarnation of the show is really special. I think people watching the show don’t really know that. They don’t see that. We keep a lot of that private on purpose, but moments like this are fun because it’s like being here with family.
There are so many examples of the NBC hosts showing love for one another, including how Willie Geist reacted to Jenna Bush Hager calling his son a swear word on live TV. Members of The Today Show crew supported Al Roker a few years ago during his health scare, showing up at his house to sing Christmas carols. (Even then Carson Daly was making jokes about Hoda Kotb stealing his dressing room for her new closet.)
Also, despite the fact that Hoda Kotb has since left the show, she apparently still wakes up at 4:30 a.m. and sends Jenna Bush Hager voice notes. I’d imagine hearing a friend’s voice is a pretty nice way to start the day.
And, as close as The Today Show hosts are, I guess that is how they get to start most days! I love hearing these behind-the-scenes tidbits from Carson Daly, and it’s really nice to know their friendships are authentic. Catch the whole crew starting at 7 a.m. ET weekdays on NBC.