Brooke Shields Once Thought She Flooded George H.W. and Barbara Bush’s House: ‘None of This Looks Good’

Shields spoke with Lauren Bush Lauren in a fireside chat at the New York Celebration of Reading on Nov. 20

Brooke Shields once had a memorable moment with former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, former first lady Barbara Bush.

Speaking with Lauren Bush Lauren at the New York Celebration of Reading on Nov. 20, hosted by the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, the author and entrepreneur, 59, recalled when she and her family visited the Bush family at their home in Kennebunkport, Maine. After everyone went upstairs for the night, Shields was in the kitchen when she noticed that water was coming into the house from the window.

“I feverishly start closing all the windows, and I go and get towels and wrap up the whole thing,” Shields said. “And now it's a mess. And I'm thinking, ‘Whoa, I got a beer in my hand and I'm flooding the house. None of this looks good.’”

Shields recalled that she quickly put down towels to stop the water from warping the wood floors, and went up to the former President and first lady's bedroom to tell them what happened.

“I'm not making eye contact because everyone's in sleep clothes,” Shields said. “And I'm like, ‘The windows were open and there was floods and I'm worried about the wood warping. So I cleaned it up and I just wanted to give you a heads up that that's what's happening. And I hope you have a really nice night. Thank you for having me.’”

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“And I was just like, ‘Shut up, Brooke,’” Shields said. “And [Barbara Bush] goes, ‘Oh honey, Brooke saved the house from flooding.’”

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Shields recalled how she then joined the Bushes as they ate TV dinners and watched television together.

“I sat there for 40 minutes watching CSI on the floor, both of them sitting there, and just going, ‘I think there really is a God,’” Shields joked. “This is just one of the sweetest moments of my entire life.”

Shields, who will publish her new book Brooke Shields is Not Allowed to Get Old in January 2025, also noted that the former President and first lady were “very important in my youth and in my life.”

“I don't have any grandparents. I don't have really many relatives except for my sisters with my dad,” Shields said. “And so he was that symbol to me, and I looked up to [Barbara] so much.” George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush both died in 2018.

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The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, founded by the former first lady in 1989, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting literacy in families across America.

“The cause itself is extremely important to me because I do believe literacy has power and freedom in it,” Shields said, adding that she also values “the power that comes from education.”

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The New York Celebration of Reading event also included remarks by authors Jessamine Chan and Kirsten Miller, and Miss New York 2024 Abigail Quammen, as well as a pre-recorded video by Jenna Bush Hager. The event kicked off the Barbara Bush Centennial, a celebration of the former first lady’s 100th birthday.

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“I’m so excited to be a part of this yearlong celebration of my grandmother’s life and legacy,” Bush Hager told PEOPLE, in an exclusive quote. “Her passion for literacy changed countless lives over the years, and I can’t think of a better way to honor her than by continuing the fight she began to help parents and children build the skills they need to thrive.”