Laura Bush Jokes About ‘Wild’ Daughter Jenna Bush Hager’s Underage Arrests

Former first lady Laura Bush is reflecting on her daughters’ “wild” years.

Laura, 78, sat down with her twin daughters, Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush, in a previously taped interview that aired on Today on Tuesday, March 25.

During the segment, Laura recalled raising her daughters, now 43, and addressed the girls’ widely publicized arrest in 2001 on alcohol-related charges.

“We were so thrilled to get two of you at once,” Laura said of her twins, adding that she was glad they had each other for companionship since she was an only child.

“But sometimes we were wild,” Jenna added.

“Well, you were always wild,” her mother replied, calling Jenna “the wildest.”

Jenna then asked her mother, “What do you feel like having twins taught you about yourself?”

“It taught me to be very patient,” the former first lady said. “Were you great? Not really.”

Jenna argued on their behalf, insisting, “We only got arrested twice.” Her mother was quick to clarify her daughter’s comments, reminding that only Jenna got arrested a second time, not Barbara.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Looking back on the experience, Laura asked Jenna if the arrests occurred while her father, George W. Bush, was president between 2001 and 2009.

“Unfortunately, I think he was,” Jenna said, before praising her mother for her nonjudgmental parenting choices. “You guys gave, which I think was a really great gift, us the freedom to make mistakes,” she added.

“We didn’t expect y’all to be perfect,” Laura shared.

The heartfelt interview was timed to the release of Jenna and Barbara’s new children’s picture book, I Loved You First. The book is “an expansive and gently whimsical celebration of parental love,” per the synopsis.

The new release follows their jointly written books Sisters First and Love Comes First.

“Mom, we love you,” Jenna tells Laura at the end of the interview. “And this book is for you.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer.

Jenna said in a 2019 interview with PEOPLE that, even to this day, her life isn’t picture-perfect. “I feel like I’m really blessed to have awesome people in my life and I feel really grateful for all of that,” she said. “But, at the same time, I’m not afraid to admit that I don’t really have it all together.

She added, “I realize the reason I probably do act like, ‘Whatever, here’s me,’ is because when you’re on the cover of magazines — like PEOPLE — at 19 having a margarita, that’s what happens. … You’ve got to accept your faults.”