Michelle Obama continues ringing in her 62nd birthday in style, on her own terms, with a surprise appearance on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast.
On Wednesday, Jan. 21, the former First Lady joined the hit show to continue promoting her latest book, “The Look,” while opening up about the pressures she felt to conform and how closely her appearance was scrutinized during Barack Obama’s presidency from 2009 to 2017.
Speaking with Cooper, Obama reflected on how those early campaign-trail pressures shaped how she approached being First Lady, especially while raising two young Black daughters.
She recalled that when she was asked what she hoped to accomplish in the role, she always came back to the same answer: “I want to make sure my kids are whole.”
“Me being a good mother in this, me and Barack being good parents in this, it didn’t mean that we weren’t gonna work hard,” she continued. “But if you want to know what my priority was, like a lot of parents, was making sure that my kids weren’t destroyed by this thing we’re doing, that they ended up whole.”
Although she said she became extremely intentional with her style during their time in the White House, the “Becoming” author emphasized that she never had to change who she was at her core, even early on in her relationship with Barack Obama.
“It was one of the things that drew me to him,” she said. “I didn’t have to change my fundamental self.”
Obama recalled meeting him in 1989 as peers at a Chicago law firm and developing their romance from a more platonic place, something she believes helped their relationship deepen naturally. She also credited dating before Barack for helping her recognize what made him different.
“I tell a lot of young girls, like dating different people helped me to see the difference in who Barack was when he showed up,” she explained. “If he had been the first person I dated… I might have thought, ‘Well, that these are buddy vibes,’ right? I had learned enough to know this is different in an important way.”
She added that listening to her instincts played a major role in that clarity, and encouraged young listeners to do the same.
“Instead of what the world is telling you to feel, really start trusting your gut,” she advised. “Because I think in the end, the work is still within. The only thing you really can control is you in this world.”
The interview arrived just a day after the “IMO” host celebrated her birthday (Jan. 17) with an Instagram post thanking supporters for their kind messages.
“I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for sharing such incredibly sweet and thoughtful birthday messages over the weekend! Your kindness, in every post, text, and call, truly made my day,” she wrote alongside a photo from the day of her “Call Her Daddy” interview, where she posed against a red backdrop in a white striped collared shirt layered under a red vest, paired with jeans, with her braids pulled back, and the whole look accessorized with bracelets.
“Feeling so grateful and loved as I start this next year of life,” she added.
