Jenna Bush Hager claims she was told not to say "Hey, y'all" when she joined NBC in 2009 on the Dec. 2 episode of 'Today.' Co-host Hoda Kotb added that she also felt like she had to "change" for the network and said it took "a long time" to be herself on air again.

They were like], ‘Hey, y’all,’ isn’t for the whole country.’ And I was like, ‘Well, but it’s who I am,’” Jenna Bush Hager said.

Despite being unapologetically themselves on the Today show, Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb faced some struggles to be able to do so. “If you don’t fit, they want you to wear something a certain way,

Speaking on Today with Hoda & Jenna on Monday (December 2), Bush Hager and Kotb opened up about what changes they had to make when they first arrived at NBC. According to Bush Hager, who started as a correspondent in 2009, there was one specific Southern phrase the network banned her from using.