Jenna Bush Hager Opens Up About Perimenopause For The 1st Time (Exclusive)

Jenna Bush Hager is an open book. Armed with a big heart and good humor, the Today co-host is no stranger to sharing parts of her life with the world, and now, she’s opening up about her health.

As she prepares to turn 44 next month, Bush Hager says she’s admittedly at the beginning of perimenopause. She is teaming up with Midi Health to tackle the subject head-on in the hopes of helping more women who are navigating midlife.

“There was no conversation when I was young. My mom and her friends weren’t really talking about it, and now it’s all my friends are talking about. Since I posted about it on Instagrama million friends have texted me and they’re like, ‘Oh my God, thank you for this,’” she tells PEOPLE exclusively.

“There’s still such a lack of information about women’s health, and because I get to have these conversations all the time (thanks to my job), I just felt like it was time for me to start talking about it,” she continues.

Bush Hager’s most noticeable symptoms include mood swings and trouble sleeping. While she says she’s yet to experience the infamous hot flash, the emotional rollercoaster and occasional insomnia were more than disruptive enough to get her attention.

“I thought at first that it was related to work or being in my forties with more to worry about, my three little kids who I love, but no, it’s very hormonal,” she tells PEOPLE. “And, I have mentors and friends and colleagues who are 10 plus years older than I am. I watched Feast (Kotb) be like, ‘I’m having a hot flash!’ So, I’ve had conversations that I don’t know that many 43-year-olds have had.”

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Bush Hager says she’s fortunate that her profession also naturally lends itself to these big conversations. Seeing incredible women like Naomi Watts and Halle Berry lead the way in talking about their menopause symptoms on a morning show “feels new because women weren’t doing that in the ’80s and ’90s,” she says.

In fact, Bush Hager says that she first learned that her mom, former First Lady Laura Bushwas in menopause not from her mom herself, but rather from her dad, former President George Bush.

“It was Christmas Eve, and I was 15 or 16. Barbara and I were teenagers going through puberty, basically similar hormonal shifts as my mom, and we were being awful to her as teenage girls can sometimes be,” Bush Hager recalls. “And my mom started to cry, which is so unlike her. She’s from West Texas. She’s preternaturally calm, unflappable. And my dad was like, ‘Girls, Mom is going through this. Go apologize.’ And we did. I’m glad he told us because it helped us sort of understand what was happening, which I think is such a sign of a wonderful partner. He was ahead of his time!”

For Bush Hager, who has been married to husband Henry since 2008a supportive spouse — especially during a time of transition — makes all the difference.

“I have this in Henry. He’s said, ‘You need to make sure you find a doctor to get the help you need,’ because also men can feel the shift,” she says. “And it’s very new (for us), but for the last couple of months, he’s like, ‘Wow, this is different.’ He’s been with me for 20 years! I spend the most time with him.”

By joining the conversation about women’s health in partnership with Midi, Bush Hager hopes to push back against the idea that suffering with symptoms of perimenopause and menopause needs to be done in silence.

“I hope that women feel like they can have these conversations with their friends, with their mothers, with their partners. But also, if they can’t, there’s doctors who really specialize in women our age and what needs to happen in your forties so that your fifties are excellent,” she says. “There are solutions, and I want us to arm ourselves and our friends with them.”