Inside the marriage of Barack and Michelle Obama, who met at work and kissed outside an ice cream store on their first date
Michelle, then 25, became 28-year-old Barack's mentor at Sidley Austin LLP in 1989. Michelle worried that it would be too "tacky" to date the new summer associate.
But ultimately, Barack won her over. The couple's first romantic excursion inspired the 2016 film "Southside with You." "We clicked right away… by the end of the date, it was over… I was sold," Michelle said, according to Brides.com.
Source: Youtube, Atlas Obscura, Brides.com
In 1991, Barack passed the bar exam, and took Michelle out to dinner at the now-shuttered Gordon's restaurant to celebrate. It was there he proposed to her.
Source: Youtube, Atlas Obscura, Brides.com
A year later, on October 3, 1992, the pair married at Chicago's Trinity Church of Christ. Michelle — a major Stevie Wonder fan — picked the song "You and I" for their first dance. The newlyweds spent their honeymoon cruising along California's coast.
Source: INSIDER, Youtube, Atlas Obscura, Brides.com, Ebony
The Obamas' two daughters, Malia and Sasha, were born in 1998 and 2001. In his book "The Audacity of Hope," Barack wrote of parenting baby Malia with Michelle, "...checking the crib to make sure she was breathing, coaxing smiles from her, singing her songs, and taking so many pictures that we started to wonder if we were damaging her eyes."
Source: INSIDER, "The Audacity of Hope"
As the Obamas' public profiles soared due to Barack's political career, Michelle told the Washington Post that she worried the impact the scrutiny was having on their daughters.
After Barack became president, Michelle recalled sending them off to their DC elementary school with Secret Service agents, and thinking, "What on Earth am I doing to these babies?"
The Obamas also had to work through "difficult times" in Illinois, as Barack "spent long days away from home playing state politics," the Guardian reported.
Source: Guardian
As a result, in some ways, the Obamas' marriage and family life became less hectic in the White House compared to the "years of tough campaigning," the Guardian reported.
Source: Guardian, The New York Times
"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," Michelle told the New York Times in 2009.
Source: The New York Times
In the White House, the couple often found time in the mornings and evenings to talk and watch shows, and typically ate meals with one another.
Source: Guardian, The New York Times, Glamour
"Not the big, splashy stuff," Michelle said, according to Glamour. "It's just the little day-to-day sharing and routines and rituals that we still have."
Source: Glamour
In an interview with Extra, Michelle said friendship was just as crucial as love in any marriage. "The love, that's always there," she said. "But it's the friendship that gets you through the tough parts."
Source: Extra
Michelle has also said that it helped that the family doesn't take themselves "too seriously." In an Entertainment Tonight segment, the then-First Couple agreed that Michelle was funnier, and Barack told more bad jokes.
Source: Glamour, Entertainment Tonight
And, despite being the leader of the free world, Barack made sure to remember things like date nights and anniversaries, Glamour reported.
Source: Glamour
Whether or not you and your partner end up in the White House, Michelle said that married couples shouldn't ever expect relationships to come easy.
Source: INSIDER
Since Obama's presidential term ended, the couple has spent time campaigning for the non-profit Obama Foundation, which supports a scholarship program and is overseeing the creation of his presidential library.
The couple and their daughters also went on a trip around the world, kitesurfing, relaxing on the beach, and yachting with Sir Richard Branson.
But whether they're campaigning for the presidency or unwinding together, the Obamas always stick to the same philosophy on marriage. "It has to be a true partnership, and you have to really, really like and respect the person you're married to because it is a hard road," Michelle said.
Source: INSIDER
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