‘Today’: Carson Daly Gets Emotional Over Kids While Filling in for Sheinelle Jones

Carson Daly started his week by sharing a sweet on-air conversation with Jenna Bush Hager.

Daly filled in for Sheinelle Jones on the Monday, May 18, episode of Today With Jenna & Sheinelle. The reason for her absence was not explained on the show, though Bush Hager noted that Jones will be back in Studio 1A on Tuesday, May 19.

Jones seemingly took the day off after speaking at the 2026 Momference conference in Washington, D.C. She reposted a fan’s video about their experience at the event via her Instagram Story on Sunday, May 17, writing, “I had such a beautiful time! Thank you for having me!”

While Jones spoke about motherhood at the event, Daly opened up about his family on Jenna & Sheinelle. “There’s never a dull moment in the Daly household. We have four children, as you know,” he told Bush Hager, referring to his and his wife Siri Daly’s kids.

Carson started by sharing an update on his eldest child, Jackson, who turned 17 earlier this year. “He’s all grown up, looking for colleges now,” he said. Bush Hager asked, “Do you think you’re gonna be one of those parents that when your kid goes off, when your baby goes off to college, you have sort of a weepy moment?”

Carson joked that he’s “looking for real estate around the university,” adding, “Every time we drive by LIU Post out in Long Island, I’m like, ‘Buddy, we’re gonna get a sick apartment here. I’m gonna hang out. It’s gonna be great.’ In my mind, I’m going with him to college. The reality hasn’t hit yet that I’m not.”

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Switching the conversation to his eldest daughter, Etta, Carson joked that the two “never speak” because he doesn’t “speak 13-year-old.” He found a solution to their lack of communication, revealing to Bush Hager that he downloaded Snapchat a few months ago.

“I have literally communicated with my daughter, in particular, more via Snapchat than I have in real life,” he shared. “I can say, ‘Are you okay?’ And then, I’ll put some stupid emoji. And she’ll write back, ‘LOL,’ and all these little things are flying all over the screen. As silly as it is, I am connected, a little bit.”

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Carson went on to note that his 11-year-old daughter, London, is “doing awesome,” and jokingly described his 6-year-old daughter, Goldie, as a “riot.”

During the parenthood conversation, Bush Hager pointed out that their “youngest three [kids] are the same ages.” Bush Hager shares her daughters, Mila and Poppy, and son, Hal, with her husband, Henry Hager.

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“Our kids think they’re cousins, even though they haven’t hung [out] in a while,” she added.

Monday’s episode marked Carson’s first time on the fourth hour of Today since he co-hosted Today With Jenna & Friends with Bush Hager in November 2025. (The show was relaunched as Jenna & Sheinelle in January after Jones became Bush Hager’s permanent co-host.)

“We’re like brother and sister. … I love you to death, so, yeah, I’m psyched to be here with you,” Carson gushed at the time. Bush Hager added, “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 our 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.’”

Today With Jenna & Sheinelle, Weekdays, 10 am, NBC

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