Former First Lady Michelle Obama has spoken about some of the frustrations that come with being married to former President Barack Obama, especially during his time in politics.
Speaking on an episode of the IMO podcast alongside her brother Craig Robinson, Michelle shared memories with guest Dr. Sharon Malone, who is married to former Attorney General Eric Holder.
According to the Daily Mail, the conversation highlighted the shared experiences of women married to high-profile political figures.
Michelle recalled first meeting Malone at a Congressional Black Caucus dinner when Barack Obama was serving as a U.S. senator.
The two were seated together as “reluctant spouses” at the event.
“There was a line of people waiting to shake hands with our respective husbands,” she said.
“People were reaching over our heads and spilling water on us, trying to get to these two illustrious men.”
She said she connected with Malone instantly after exchanging a look that said,
“This is crazy, isn’t it, girl?” When her brother Craig suggested she had looked “p***ed off,” Michelle disagreed, saying it was more of a silent understanding between two women navigating similar challenges.
According to the Daily Mail, Michelle has long been open about the pressures of being a political spouse.
Earlier this year, she chose not to attend the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter and also skipped Donald Trump’s second inauguration, which fueled speculation about marital issues.
She addressed the rumours during a recent appearance on actress Sophia Bush’s podcast.
“That’s the thing that we as women, I think, we struggle with disappointing people,” Michelle said.
“So much so that this year, people couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself. They had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing.”
She added, “That this couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right? That’s what society does to us.”
“We start, actually, finally going, ‘What am I doing? Who am I doing this for?’ And if it doesn’t fit into the sort of stereotype of what people think we should do, then it gets labelled as something negative and horrible.”
