Watch: Michelle Obama Details How Her Life Would Look Without Barack Obama Marriage
Michelle Obama is loving life as an empty nester.
The former first lady shared her honest thoughts on how she feels about her Barack Obama’s daughters Malia, 28, and Sasha, 25, no longer living at home, recalling the moment her kids moved out to go to college.
“I don’t miss ‘em,” Michelle told Jon Stewart on the Aug. 26 episode of her and her brother Craig Robinson’s IMO podcast. “I don’t. I love them. I’m going to see them tonight for dinner.”
And it seems that the 60-year-old’s thoughts differ than her husband’s. After all, Michelle shared that Barack—who served as President of the United States from 2009 to 2017—had an emotional reaction when Malia and Sasha left for college at Harvard University in 2017 and University of Southern California in 2019, respectively.
“Barack cried when they went to college. I was like, ‘Bye!” she jokingly admitted. “Now, Friday nights aren’t wrecked with terror and fear about, ‘Where are you?’”
As Michelle emphasized, “I love their emancipation and growth.”
After Stewart—dad to son Nathan, 22, and daughter Maggie, 20, with wife Tracey McShane—asked Michelle if she missed the “job” of parenting, she bluntly responded, “No.”
“It gave meaning and pattern to my life,” Stewart added, to which Michelle candidly replied, “I’m good.”
“Looking at all this meaning,” she continued, appearing to gesture to her and her brother’s podcast studio. “I have a wonderful pattern.”
While Stewart and Robinson agreed that they enjoy their kids’ schedules, Michelle quipped, “I love my schedule.”
“I have a great schedule,” she added, “and it’s all mine.”
But the Becoming author pointed out that there’s a reason why dads may feel differently than moms about kids leaving the nest.
“I think fathers can be that way because you weren’t there from 6:00 to 9:00 at night, you missed a lot of it,” she shared. “I mean, I’ve had so much quality time with my children, so much. I know them inside and out.”
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Indeed, during Barack’s two terms in office, Michelle emphasized that her role first and foremost was always their daughters, notable calling herself “Mom-in-Chief.”
And now, many years later, she couldn’t be more grateful for the young women her daughters have become despite their rather unconventional upbringing in the White House.
“You both have grown into such brilliant and beautiful young women, making your way out there in the world,” Michelle told her daughters while giving a speech at the opening of Barack’s presential center in June. “Thank you for bringing so much joy and spirit and energy to a life you had no voice in choosing, and for making us proud every step of the way.”
For a closer look at more of Michelle and Barack’s candid confessions over the years, keep reading…
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