Former first lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama is the cover star for the December edition of Elle magazine. The magazine cover is j
Former first lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama is the cover star for the December edition of Elle magazine. The magazine cover is just in time as it coincides with the public presentation of her memoir, ‘Becoming’. The First lady who gets interviewed by media mogul Oprah Winfrey for the magazine opens up about all she has learnt in all of her 26 years of marriage.
Besides the fact that she and Barack Obama have had their fair share of ups and down, she doesn’t quite define their relationship as #RelationshipGoals—at least, not in the way the hashtag has been attributed to their names. She adds that even before he was elected President of the United States, the demands of his political career were often at odds with the needs of their family. And s they had to work out any friction as any normal couple would by seeing a marriage counselor.
In her memoir, Becoming, Michelle confessed she felt vulnerable when Barack was on the road and away from their family.
“I had to learn how to express that to my husband, to tap into those parts of me that missed him—and the sadness that came from that—so that he could understand. He didn’t understand distance in the same way. You know, he grew up without his mother in his life for most of his years, and he knew his mother loved him dearly, right? I always thought love was up close. Love is the dinner table, love is consistency, it is presence. So I had to share my vulnerability and also learn to love differently. It was an important part of my journey of becoming,” the 54-year-old mother of two says.
“Yeah. And I share this because I know that people look to me and Barack as the ideal relationship. I know there’s #RelationshipGoals out there. But whoa, people, slow down—marriage is hard!” Michelle says, admitting that she and Barack even argue differently. “I am like a lit match. It’s like, poof! And he wants to rationalize everything. So he had to learn how to give me, like, a couple minutes—or an hour—before he should even come in the room when he’s made me mad. And he has to understand that he can’t convince me out of my anger…”
After they moved into the White House, Michelle set ground rules to ensure Barack managed his time better. For example, family dinners were basically mandatory. “That was one of the things I brought into the White House—that strict code of, ‘You gotta catch up with us, dude. This is when we’re having dinner. Yes, you’re president, but you can bring your butt from the Oval Office and sit down and talk to your children,'” she recalls. “Because children bring solace.”
Click here to read the full interview
