Chelsea Handler isn't just Jenna Bush Hager's friend — she's her "sissy."
The comedian and the TODAY co-host greeted each other like sisters during Handler's guest appearance on Jenna & Friends on Dec. 5, giving fans a glimpse at their tight bond.
"Finally, one of my family members, my sissy Chelsea Handler," Jenna said. "We've been waiting for you (to come on the show)."
Jenna only has one sister, her twin Barbara, who she also affectionately calls sissy, but Handler has long been an honorary member of the family. After Handler described her ideal lifestyle of spending about two hours a day working and the rest having a good time, Jenna brought up their bond.
"By the way, that's why we're related," Jenna said. "I love that."
"People don't know that we're sisters, by the way," Handler said. "We have a whole thing. We're related. Barbara's our sister, too. We're triplets."
Handler is close enough with the Bush family that an interaction with former President George W. Bush, Jenna's father, was part of Handler's standup routine during her 2023 comedy tour. She now has her "High and Mighty Tour" coming up in 2026.
"Are you going to talk about my dad again on tour?" Jenna asked Dec. 5.
"I talked about your father, well, our father really, on my last special, so I feel like I'm going to give him a break in this next new hour of material," Handler said. "I can't talk about him all the time, people are going to think something romantic is going on. Which would be so weird since we're sisters."
Part of Handler's 2023 standup act was a bit about how she needed a little chemical help when meeting George W. Bush at the Bush family's compound in Maine in 2020. Handler shared the story with Jenna and Hoda Kotb on TODAY in 2023, as well as the origin of her and Jenna calling each other sissy.
“(Jenna's) sissy, who I also call sissy, Barbara, we all met as sisters," Handler said. "Sissy’s easier so I don’t forget anyone’s name."
Handler was living in a rented house in Maine with her sister during the COVID-19 pandemic when she got in touch with Jenna and Barbara, who were nearby at the family's home in Kennebunkport. She regularly did Pilates with Barbara, who invited her to play pickleball one day at the family compound.
Handler feared her brash personality might be a little much for the former president, so she decided to get some help to dial it down.
"I had to take a couple edibles because I was in a situation where I wanted to behave myself," Handler said. "That was an instance where I thought my personality should be muted."
But she ended up coming clean to the former president during their pickleball game.
"I had to reveal to the former president that I was indeed stoned," she said.
