First spouses, they’re just like us! Michelle and Barack Obama’s relationship is total #CouplesGoals. However, it hasn’t always been that way. In fact, the first decade of their marriage was an uphill struggle, just like many mere mortals’ romances. Michelle got candid about her and Barack’s relationship woes during a December 2022 Revolt TV panel. “People think I’m being catty saying this. It’s like, there were 10 years where I couldn’t stand my husband,” she admitted. “And guess when it happened? When those kids were little.”
Michelle said she felt Barack wasn’t pulling his weight, managing to jet off on work trips and partake in rounds of golf but unable to fit any quality family time into his packed schedule. Meanwhile, she was left to balance the demands of home life, child care, and a burgeoning career. “For 10 years, while we’re trying to build our careers and, you know, worrying about school and who’s doing what and what, I was like, ‘Ugh, this isn’t even,'” Michelle shared, conceding that “marriage isn’t 50/50 — ever.” Still, Michelle admitted that overall, the good times definitely outweigh the bad in the long run.
“If I fell out with him for 10, and we had [a] great 20 years, I’d take those odds anytime,” she told Gayle King in an April 2023 “CBS Morning” interview, explaining it’s impractical to like “everybody every day.”
