Michelle Obama says life in the White House challenged her in ways she “never anticipated.”
The former first lady is poised to open up about the experience in a forthcoming episode of “On Purpose with Jay Shetty,” which premiers Monday.
In an exclusive clip obtained by ITK, Shetty asked Obama what being part of the first family at the White House revealed to her about herself.
“That I’m pretty strategic and smart and resilient,” Obama, 59, replied.
“The White House tests you in ways that you never anticipated,” the mom of two said.
“And the fact that we came out as a family, as individuals, the four of us, me and our two daughters — that was us,” Obama added. “That was our values, our compassion, our smarts, our strategy, that got us through.”
In a promotional clip shared by Shetty on Friday ahead of the podcast’s release, Obama weighed in on her 31-year marriage to former President Obama, and the price of fame.
“I tell young people this, especially young people who think they want fame: Do you know what that is?” Obama said.
“When you become famous, you lose your anonymity. That’s a tough thing to lose,” the “Becoming” author told Shetty. “I never wanted to feel so high that I was closed off and suspicious.”
“I don’t want people looking at me and Barack like #couplesgoals,” Michelle Obama said of her relationship with the former commander in chief.
“No, no. There are some broken things that happen even in the best of marriages,” Obama said.
It’s not the first time that Shetty has interviewed a member of the first family. He sat down with President Biden at the White House for a wide-ranging conversation focused on mental health last July.