Former US President, Barack Obama has opened up on his relationship with wife, Michelle Obama.
In December 2022, former U.S. first lady, Michelle Obama, sat down with REVOLT Studios, where she spoke about the stress of living in the White House and raising their kids, opening up about a challenging period in her marriage to former President Barack Obama.
Barack and Michelle have two kids together, Sasha, 21, and Malia, 24. But when they moved into the White House, the kids were only 7 and 10.
In an interview with CBS Mornings, Barack Obama finally officially responded to the comments. He admitted that he didn’t ‘appreciate the stress she was under’ at the time. For the couple, it’s yet another refreshing take on a long-term partnership and the stresses of raising kids.
Then co-host Nate Burleson asked him about Michelle’s comments about those 10 years that she couldn’t ‘stand him.’
Obama replied in a typically honest and gracious fashion, saying when it comes to his relationship with his wife, Michelle Obama, ‘it sure helps to be out of the White House, and to have a little more time with her.’
Now, having some distance from the harder parts of raising children, and being out of the bright lights in the White House — and, of course, the stress and commitment the job entails — Barack said he and Michelle are able to look back on those tough years much more kindly.
‘Now that they’re doing good, she’s a little more forgiving of my flaws,’ he shared. ‘What she’s told me is, “Looking back, you did OK as a dad.” And if I passed that test, then she’ll forgive me most of my other foibles.’
‘People think I’m being catty by saying this — it’s like there were 10 years [that] I couldn’t stand my husband,’ Michelle Obama said at the time.
‘And guess when it happened? When those kids were little… Because you can be all great individually when you’re just married, you got your life, he’s got his, you come together it’s like ‘oh, good to see you, bye, take it easy.’
Michelle also in an interview with CBS Mornings last month, stated that she opens up about these things ‘because marriage is hard.’
‘And a lot of young people quit on marriage over things that are just a part of the commitment,’ she said.
‘We’ve been married for 30 years. If I fell out with him for 10, and we had a great 20 years. I’d take those odds anytime.’
She said that at a time when marriage is glamorized and ‘more about the dress,’ it is incumbent upon people who have had successful marriages to be honest about the fact that making a commitment to be with someone means compromise, which ‘ain’t always fun.’
