WATCH: Obama GOT JOKES: “I Got 99 Problems And Now Jay-Z Is One!”
First Lady Michelle Obama is featured in Vogue Magazine once again, this time as the cover subject for their April 2013 issue. Although she graces the cover solo, the accompanying article is definitely a family feature as President Obama also strikes a pose for his wife’s photo shoot and drops in on her interview.
Inside, the couple take turns dishing on what they’ve learned from each other throughout their 20 year marriage, as well as reveal how they were able to keep their relationship intact while taking on the pressures of being a First Family. Michelle admits her mama, who lives in the White House with them, keeps the both of them in check. President Obama also says that Michelle upgraded him “like Beyoncé in that song.” Ha!
Peep the highlights below:
On preventing their political rise to fame from shaking up their relationship
President Obama: We were pretty much who we are by the time I hit the national scene. We didn’t grow up or come of age under a spotlight. We were anonymous folks. I was a state senator, but nobody knows who a state senator is. So most of our 30s and 40s were as a typical middle-class family… . That really didn’t change until I was 45 years old. And there’s something about having lived a normal life and raised kids. We had to figure out how to make a mortgage, payin’ the bills, goin’ to Target, and freakin’ out when … the woman who’s looking after your girls while Michelle’s working suddenly decides she’s quittin’… . All those experiences made us who we were, so that by the time this thing hit, it was hard for us to… .Michelle: Be different people. And I think we are accountable to each other for being who we are. There’s no way I could walk in the door and be somebody different from who I’ve been with this man for 20-some-odd years. He would laugh me out of the house! And we are also blessed with families who hold us accountable.[…]“My mother doesn’t do interviews. but let me tell you: She is not long on pretense. She’s the first one to remind us who we are. And it’s been very helpful having her living with us… . We can check reality against her sensibilities.
Michelle On President Obama’s laid back personality
I’ve tried to explain this guy to people over the years, but there is a calmness to him that is just … it has been a consistent part of his character. Which is why I think he is uniquely suited for this challenge—because there is a steadiness. And maybe it’s because of his Hawaiian upbringing—you go to Hawaii and it’s Chillsville; maybe it was because his life growing up was a little less steady, so he had to create that steadiness for himself … but he is that person, in all situations, over the course of these last four years, from watching the highs and lows of health-care reform to dealing with two very contentious, challenging elections… . The most you get from him is ‘You know, that is gonna be tough… .’ There are a lot of times I can’t tell how his day went. Unless I really dig down. Because when he walks through that door, he can let go of it all. And it just doesn’t penetrate his soul. And that’s the beautiful thing for me to see as his wife. That was one of the things I was worried about: How would politics affect this very decent, genuine, noble individual? And there is just something about his spirit that allows all that stuff to stay on the outside.Michelle and President Obama on what they’ve learned from each other
Michelle: Well, patience and calm I’m borrowing. Or trying to mirror. I’ve learned that from my husband, that sort of, you know, ability to not get too high or too low with changes and bumps in the road … to do more breathing in and just going with it. I’m learning that every day. And to the extent that I’ve made changes in my life, it’s just sort of stepping back and seeing a change not as something to guard against but as a wonderful addition … that can make life fun and unexpected. Oftentimes, it’s the way we react to change that is the thing that determines the overall experience. So I’ve learned to let go and enjoy it and take it in and not take things too personally.”President Obama: And what Michelle has done is to remind me every day of the virtues of order. Being on time. Hanging up your clothes. Being intentional about planning time with your kids. In some ways I think … we’re very different people, and some of that’s temperamental, some of it is how we grew up. Michelle grew up in a model nuclear family: mom, dad, brother… . She just has these deep, wonderful roots. When you go back to Chicago, she’s got family everywhere… . There’s just a warmth and a sense of belonging. And you know, that’s not how I grew up.
I had this far-flung family, father left at a very young age, a stepfather who ended up passing away as well. My mother was this wonderful spirit, and she was adventurous but not always very well organized. And, so, what that means is that I’m more comfortable with change and adventure and trying new things, but the downside of it is, sometimes—particularly when we were early on in ourmarriage—I wasn’t always thinking about the fact that my free-spirited ways might be having an impact on the person I’m with. And conversely, early in our marriage, Michelle provided this sense of stability and clarity and certainty about things, but sometimes she resisted trying something new just because it might seem a little scary or push her out of her comfort zone. I think what we’ve learned from each other is that sense of… .[Michelle: “Balance.”] There’s no doubt I’m a better man having spent time with Michelle. I would never say that Michelle’s a better woman, but I will say she’s a little more patient.
President Obama on Michelle Upgrading Him
Michelle’s like Beyoncé in that song, ‘Let me upgrade ya!’ She upgraded me.
President Obama and Michelle took to the stage at the 2013 Commander-In-Chief’s Inaugural Ball and swayed side to side as one while Jennifer Hudson sang Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.” That moment, being watched by millions of people, was actually very romantic. The President, dressed in his white bow tie, occasionally kissed Michelle and sang the words to the song throughout the dance. If only we could see more loving moments like this amongst couples on television…
Four years ago, Beyoncé performed “At Last” as Barack and Michelle Obama took their first dance as President and First Lady of the United States. On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the 31-year-old singer was invited back and asked to sing the National Anthem during the president’s second inauguration ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Prior to her patriotic performance, Bey and husband Jay-Z made an elegant entrance at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. Hip-hop’s First Couple beamed with pride as they walked arm in arm in all black (Bey looked gorgeous in a floor-length Emilio Pucci gown, 80-carat emerald earrings, and a 50-carat emerald ring by Lorraine Schwartz). They greeted the First Family.
Yesterday, as we honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., President Obama was sworn in for a second term as the President of the United States. By his side, was First Lady Michelle who looked amazing in a Thom Browne patterned coat, their daughters Malia and Sasha who rocked coats by J. Crew and Kate Spade, and Michelle’s mother Marian Robinson
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