‘Today’: Jenna Bush Hager Tears Up Over Fan’s On-Air Surprise Proposal

Jenna Bush Hager had a fun surprise in store for Al Roker‘s Today With Jenna & Friends cohosting debut.

During the show’s “Holiday Wishes” segment on Tuesday, December 16, Bush Hager and Roker brought out a couple, Marquitta Foster and Justin Waddell, for what they thought would be a game of Today trivia.

“We actually have to come clean. We feel a little bad. Marquitta, you’re not just here for a game,” Bush Hager told her guests. “Justin actually wrote into the show to tell everybody how much you mean to him.”

What followed was a surprise video package featuring Waddell discussing his relationship with Foster. “She’s the most beautiful person in the world, period,” he gushed. “She has a radiant energy, and she’s one of those people that she just spreads joy wherever she is, no matter the situation.”

Waddell explained that he met Foster via online dating after initially being hesitant to find love that way. “I get a ding on my phone, and I just see beauty personified and immediately started a conversation with her,” he shared, adding that they have been “​​inseparable” since their first date.

“It’s very cliché to say you know when you know, when you know your person. This is somebody I believe, literally, has helped me improve as a man. When she says, ‘I’m your biggest cheerleader,’ it means a lot to me. I’m incredibly thankful to have her in my life,” Waddell continued. “I think she’s a radiant soul. She’s uplifting and the most beautiful person I’ve ever met. She brings me up. She keeps me on the high whenever she sees me. It’s one of those things where it’s just like, we’re just hyped to see each other.”

The package ended with Waddell stating to the camera, “Kita, baby, I love you more than words. I can’t believe you’ve taken this ride with me, but I’ve got one more surprise for you.”

Back in Today‘s Studio 1A, Waddell got down on one knee. “Kita, you know I love you more than words. You’re my heart, and I just have one question. Dr. Marquitta LaShae Foster, will you marry me?” Foster replied, “Absolutely,” prompting applause from Bush Hager, Roker, and the Jenna & Friends crew.

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“We’re glad that went the way that it went,” Bush Hager quipped after wiping away happy tears. “Marquitta, what is going through your mind?” Foster stated, “I wouldn’t trade it for the world, Jenna. This is someone after God’s own heart, and this is my person.”

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Noting that she was “bawling crying,” Bush Hager went on to tell the couple, “We feel bad because we said y’all were gonna compete for a prize, and we thought, ‘You know what? We can’t disappoint you.’ So what about a trip to celebrate your engagement?”

The show surprised the new fiancés with a four-night trip to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. “I think y’all need to go take engagement pictures at Top of the Rock. Can we do that?” Bush Hager added, to which Roker replied, “We can do that.”

Roker wrapped up the segment on a funny note, telling viewers, “You know what the moral of the story is? All these single folks out there, come down to the Today show and show up at the Plaza. You’ll end up getting engaged.”

Today With Jenna & Friends, Weekdays, 10 a.m./9c, NBC

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