Raising teenagers is not easy, but raising teenagers while living in the White House, with your every move one tabloid headline away from public consumption, is an entirely different level of chaos, and one Michelle Obama didn’t shy away from addressing in a recent interview.
Earlier this week, on the latest episode of Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa, the former First Lady gave an unfiltered look into the emotional, logistical, and downright exhausting task of protecting her daughters, Malia and Sasha, from the public eye while still letting them be teenagers.
“Every weekend was a nightmare,” Michelle Obama confessed. “We had to work to make sure that them being regular teenagers didn’t wind up on Page Six.”
While most parents worry about their kids sneaking in past curfew, Michelle and Barack were managing Secret Service logistics, press leaks, and the impossible task of letting their daughters stumble with the normalcy of teenage life and mistakes in private.
“They had to drive and go to prom. They had drinks, they tried smoking, and they did all the things,” she shared. “But with the world watching, even the smallest misstep could become national news.”
To say the Obamas worked overtime to protect their daughters’ privacy is an understatement, as Mrs. Obama shared, even a simple playdate required a full-blown security operation.
Source: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Getty
“The process of having my children at your house meant that an advance team had to come and question and search your house and ask if you had drugs and guns,” Michelle revealed. “It was a lot of work.”
Despite their father being one of the most recognizable and coolest figures on the planet, Michelle made it her mission to remind Malia and Sasha that fame wasn’t their identity. “This world is not about you. This is just your dad’s job,” she emphasized. “You don’t want them to start thinking they’re full of themselves.”
The Obamas called it the “Obama tax”, the price their daughters will continue to pay for being born into a legacy they didn’t ask for, but Michelle also acknowledged the privilege wrapped inside that pressure.
“You’ll have it the rest of your life,” she told her daughters, “but you also have a lot of benefits.”
Fast-forward to today, and Malia and Sasha are carving out identities of their own. Malia, now 26, is stepping into Hollywood, recently premiering her short film The Heart at Sundance. Sasha, 23, earned her sociology degree from USC and is living her best post-grad life in L.A.—often spotted at music parties and cultural events, and admired for her style.
Malia and Sasha Obama stun with Destin Conrad at his album listening party. pic.twitter.com/3inS1w81Lo
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) April 29, 2025
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The former First Lady’s new openness isn’t just about her daughters’ teenage years. She’s also peeling back the curtain on her own evolution as a woman and mother. On another podcast appearance last month, she admitted Barack once floated the idea of a third child, an idea she declined.
“Barack told me, ‘We should have a third,’ and I said, ‘Oh!’” she recalled with a laugh. “At that moment, I thought, ‘I think I’ve been lucky with these two.’”
The long days, sleepless nights, and emotional weight of motherhood played a major role in Michelle Obama’s decision to stop at two children. “I would look at them and think, ‘Oh my God, they only have me. I feel so bad for them,’” she shared, revealing just how heavy that responsibility felt in those early years.
Even today, she still cherishes her alone time—proof that the need to recharge never really fades, even when the kids are grown.
“A couple of hours without anyone asking me for anything after dinner is something I really appreciate,” she said.
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