Former first lady Michelle Obama said she ‘couldn’t stand’ her husband, former President Obama, when their children were young.
‘People think I’m being catty for saying this: it’s like, there were 10 years where I couldn’t stand my husband,’ the former first lady said in an interview earlier this month with Revolt. ‘And guess when it happened? When those kids were little.’
The Obama daughters, Malia and Sasha, were ages 7 and 10 when they moved to the White House. Their mother said in the interview to promote her new book that the young children posed a challenge as she and the former president advanced their careers.
‘For 10 years while we’re trying to build our careers and worrying about school and who’s doing what and what, I was like, ‘Argh, this isn’t even!’’ Obama said. ‘And guess what? Marriage isn’t 50/50, ever. Ever. There are times I’m 70, he’s 30. There are times he’s 60, 40. But guess what? Ten years. We’ve been married 30. I would take 10 bad years over 30 — it’s just how you look at it. People give up — ‘Five years; I can’t take it.’’
The Obamas met at a law firm in Chicago in 1989. Their net worth is now at least $70 million. Their joint deal in 2017 for their memoirs was estimated to be worth $65 million. The couple later cut a deal with Netflix that is estimated to be around $50 million.
Michelle said in the December interview that she always respected her husband through their challenges.
‘Do you like him? I mean, you could be mad at him, but do you still look at him and go, ‘I’m not happy with you, but I respect you. I don’t agree with you, but you’re still a kind, smart person,” she said of relationship troubles.
Michelle’s second book ‘The Light We Carry,’ was published in November.