Barack Obama needed to reprioritize his marriage to Michelle Obama in the wake of his two-term presidency.
“Look, I was in a deep deficit with my wife, so I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things,” Barack, 63, quipped during a Thursday, April 3, conversation at Hamilton College.
Barack and Michelle, 61, have been married since 1992 after meeting a decade earlier during their early legal careers in Chicago. The pair went on to welcome daughters Malia and Sasha in 1998 and 2001, respectively. Seven years after Sasha completed the family, Barack was elected president of the United States. He served two consecutive terms, leaving the office in 2016.
During his Thursday speech, Barack opened up about how he spends his free time since exiting the White House.
“Well, right now, at the moment, I’m splitting time between the work for the foundation,” he said. “Michelle and I set up the Obama Foundation to train the next generation of leaders here in the United States and around the world, and that keeps me busy.”
Barack has also been busy “finishing the second half of my presidential memoirs.”
“In case any of you feel sorry for yourself, this is, like, 50 term papers,” he joked to the crowd of college students. “I mean, it just goes on forever. But people ask me, ‘Do you enjoy writing?’ I say, ‘Absolutely not,’ but I do enjoy having written when it’s finished. I’m hoping to get to the finish line on that.”
Barack also offered insight into his home life with Michelle and their daughters, joking that he “constantly” loses arguments to all three women.
“I constantly lose arguments to my wife, my daughters,” Barack joked. “They mock me and ridicule me at the dinner table.”
According to Barack, daughters Malia, 27, and Sasha, 23, also frequently remind him about their differences — like their respective technology proficiencies.
“They didn’t get their first phones, and they constantly remind me of this, until they were 13 and 10 [or] 14 and 11, and they’re still in their 20s,” Barack recalled. “I mean, that’s how recent these changes have happened. As profound as that technology has been, AI will be more impactful.”
Since leaving the Oval Office, Barack has frequently gushed about his marriage.
“Happy birthday to the love of my life, @MichelleObama,” he wrote via social media in January. “You fill every room with warmth, wisdom, humor, and grace — and you look good doing it. I’m so lucky to be able to take on life’s adventures with you. Love you!”
Michelle reposted her spouse’s tribute via X, writing, “Love you, honey!”
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