6 things you did not know about Barack and Michelle Obama’s marriage

Six little-known facts about Barack and Michelle Obama's lasting marriage

The 44th President and former First Lady of the United States, Barack and Michelle Obama, are best known for their successful marriage. Being married to each other for more than 31 years and raising two daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama, the power couple continues to be in love with one another. However, their married life was not devoid of ups and downs. Barack and Michelle were not the ones to shy away from their struggles in their long journey; instead, they opened up about them. Here are six strange things you did not know about their marriage.

1. Michelle Obama refused to go out with Barack Obama at first

Michelle was not the kind of person who gave in quickly when Barack first asked her out on a date. The former president revealed the first stage of their longstanding relationship in a 2007 piece in the Oprah Magazine. "I asked her out. She refused. I kept asking. She kept refusing," he wrote. Michelle hesitated because she did not find it appropriate as she was Barack's adviser then at the Sidley & Austin law firm, according to her husband. However, the former first lady disclosed in the 2009 biography 'Obama: From Promise to Power' that she was reluctant because of Barack's "good-looking, smooth-talking" nature. But the former president quit his job to woo her. "I treated her to the finest ice cream Baskin-Robbins had to offer, our dinner table doubling as the curb. I kissed her, and it tasted like chocolate," Barack wrote.

2. Barack and Michelle Obama are different at their core

"We are, in many ways, very different people, my husband and I," Michelle wrote in her book 'The Light We Carry'. The match made in heaven is poles apart in habits and the way they approach an issue. For instance, Barack is a night owl reading and writing, while Michelle is an early riser. In her last episode of 'Michelle Obama: The Light podcast', the ex-first lady said that her husband wanted to talk rationally when they disagreed on something. Whereas Michelle would prefer not to talk or even see Barack when she is angry. "We are the epitome of opposites attract," she said to Conan O'Brien during her 'Becoming' book tour.

3. The Obamas lived apart for a long time

Before moving into the White House in 2009, the Obamas lived apart for many years since 2006 because of Barack's career. He only stayed home on weekends during his time as a Senator, which required him to commute from Chicago to Springfield and Washington, DC. Speaking to The New York Times Magazine in 2009, Michelle said, "This is the first time in a long time in our marriage that we've lived seven days a week in the same household with the same schedule, with the same set of rituals." In a separate interview on People, she said that living under the same roof brought the family together. "The surprising truth is that being in the White House has made our family life more 'normal' than it's ever been," Barack wrote in a piece for MORE magazine. After leaving the White House in 2017, the couple stayed together at their DC home or the mansion on Martha's Vineyard.

4. Michelle Obama accidentally referred to herself as a 'single mother'

While serving as the first lady, Michelle mistakenly called herself a "single mother." "Believe me, as a busy single mother," she said in a 2013 interview with CBS but soon sensed the blunder and added, "I shouldn't say single. As a busy mother, sometimes, when you know you got a husband who's president, it can feel a little single. But he's there." Barack took no offense to his wife's slip of the tongue, admitting in an interview with TODAY that she must have felt so at times. The former president added that they were apart for almost a week without seeing each other during his campaign when Michelle would be looking after their daughters and maintaining her career.

5. Barack and Michelle Obama went through a 10-year rough patch in their marriage

The made-in-heaven match was not always compatible during their 31-year-long journey. There was a decade-long rough patch where Barack and Michelle faced difficulties in their relationship. "People think I'm being catty by saying this — it's like, there were ten years where I couldn't stand my husband," the former first lady disclosed during a 2022 panel discussion on Revolt TV. The couple worked through the struggle and stayed together. Speaking on CBS Mornings last year, Michelle said she had a "great 20 years" and would take those odds at any time.

6. Barack and Michelle Obama's marriage dynamic was not balanced

The power couple did not have a 50/50 balance in their married life. During the Revolt TV panel discussion, Michelle said that at times, she was 70 and Barack was 30. At the same time, there were times when the balance shifted to 60/40. "Somebody was always giving more," she admitted. In a 2009 interview with The New York Times Magazine, Michelle divulged that her husband's role as president impacted the balance of their marriage. "Clearly, Barack's career decisions are leading us. They're not mine; that's obvious. I'm married to the president of the United States. I don't have another job, and it would be problematic in this role. So that — you can't even measure that," the former first lady said.