Barack Obama has detailed why his marriage of nearly 34-years to his wife, Michelle Obama, may not be “an equal partnership.”
The former U.S. President and First Lady — who shares two daughters, Malia, 27, and Sasha, 25 — spoke about the dynamics of their marriage during a new interview with People.
“I knew almost immediately, and looks like I made a pretty good bet, that this was a one-of-a-kind woman with the integrity and character, smarts and values to make me better,” Barack recalled about the early days of his relationship. “And she still does, and would make our kids have a foundation that would pay off in the long term.”
“I don’t know if it’s been an equal partnership,” he confessed. “I’ve gotten more out of it than she has. But it’s worked out for me really well. For her, it’s probably more of a mixed bag. It’s been more upsides on my end.”
However, Michelle then argued that she and Brack are “each other’s counterbalance.”
“The truth is, I probably would have been someone who stayed more put. I think I would have had a beautiful life here, but it would have been smaller,” she said. “But because of who my husband is, he offered all of us — our girls, my mom, my family — a broader sense of what’s possible in life.”
The Becoming author praised her husband for helping her think about what she could do with a law degree from Harvard, besides becoming an attorney.
“He gave me the courage. He was my ballast. He was like, ‘I got you,’” she continued. “And however hard it’s been, the ups and downs, he’s got me.’”
Barack chimed in: “And she grounds and anchors me. It’s worked out a’ight.”
The pair first met in the Eighties when Michelle was working as a law firm associate and was assigned to be Barack’s mentor while he was a summer intern. They officially tied the knot in 1992, before welcoming Malia in 1998 and Sasha in 2001.
Throughout the past week, Barack and Michelle have done multiple press interviews to discuss last Friday’s opening of the Obama Presidential Center, a museum that tells the story of America’s first Black president and First Lady and is managed by The Obama Foundation.
Two days before the museum opened, the couple appeared in a rare joint interview with Good Morning America and reflected on their time in the White House. During the conversation, host Robin Roberts asked Barack if there was anything he would have done differently as president.
“I always used to feel like I was making a mistake a day,” he responded. “The thing that we were good at, and allowed me to sleep at night and get up and go back at it, was… I always felt that when we made decisions, we were making decisions with the American people in mind.”
The Obama Presidential Center’s official opening comes after a decade of planning and setbacks. In 2015, the former U.S. president announced his library would be built in Chicago, his home for more than two decades. Construction began in 2021, but it was slowed by legal problems.
