It’s been eight years since former First Lady Michelle Obama left the White House, yet she still laments the challenge of following her husband Barack’s journey to the nation’s highest office.
In the debut episode of her podcast “IMO,” which premiered Wednesday, the 61-year-old, who married her husband in 1992, revealed that her first reaction when she learned Barack was running for president was, “no way.”
“I couldn’t have gotten through eight years in the White House without my big brother,” Michelle said, in reference to Craig, 62, who serves as the executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the New York Post reports.
Michelle made her comments amid questions regarding the health of the Obamas’ marriage, as they have rarely been seen together over the past few months.“Being married to the president of the United States [is a] thing that none of us kind of banked on. We knew Barack was smart and ambitious, but, you know,” she went on.
“You talked me into supporting his run,” she said, again referring to brother Craig.
“And he [Barack] was smart enough to know that he needed to come to you and sell you on the idea. Because I was definitely like, no, no way,” Michelle added, per The Post.
Michelle, who has never hidden her disdain for politics, also recalled her frustration with her husband’s chronic tardiness when they first started dating at Chicago’s Sidley Austin law firm.
“Barack had to adjust to what ‘on time’ was,” she said. “You know, I’ve got this husband who, when it’s time to leave, he’s getting up and going to the bathroom. And I was like, dude, like three o’clock departure means you’ve done all that. It’s like, don’t start looking for your glasses, you know, at the three o’clock departure,” she said, before going on to admit, “he’s improved over 30 years of marriage.”
During the episode, Robinson discussed his divorce as the siblings reminisced about their childhood on Chicago’s South Side. Michelle, who has published two non-fiction books since leaving the White House in 2017, also expressed frustration over the former president’s reluctance to engage in meaningful conversations with his “buddies,” even during five-hour golf outings.
“My husband is like, ‘what are you talking about all day?’” she told writer and actress Issa Rae in the second episode of her podcast, which also premiered the same day.Barack “does not fully understand” how complex female relationships can be, Michelle charged.
Rumors have been circulating about the couple’s marriage for months, including that Barack was seeing actress Jennifer Aniston.
The “Friends” star denied a romance with Obama on Jimmy Kimmel Live, saying that she has only “met him once.”
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“I know Michelle more than him,” she said.
Barack also attended a Los Angeles Clippers game courtside on Wednesday—but noticeably without Michelle, further sparking rumors of a coming breakup.
Instead, Obama was seen sitting alongside Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his wife, Connie Snyder, effectively third-wheeling.
Barack also notably attended President Donald Trump’s second inauguration alone in January after Michelle, a vocal critic of Trump, opted to skip the event.