Michelle Obama's Complaint About Marriage Is One All Parents Can Relate To
In an interview on "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert, former First Lady Michelle Obama gives her succinct wisdom she is so endeared for. But not before, soon after joining the stage and sitting down with Colbert, someone from the crowd yells, "Trump 2024" while Obama begins to speak. Obama looks into the crowd with a grimace on her face and shakes her head, then laughs. She turns to Colbert with the same look, who laughs and simply says, "No," and the conversation continues.
Obama goes on to talk about her new book, "The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times," which she wrote during the pandemic. Over the next 20 interrupted minutes, Obama and Colbert touch on topics such as how to "quiet the fearful mind," as Obama put it, the recent midterm elections, where Democrats retained control over the Senate — a feat not often repeated in history — as "the party in power almost always loses ground in Congress in midterm elections," per The Hill, and her reaction to the January 6, 2020 attack on the Capitol, which resulted in the deaths of five people, per The New York Times.
Colbert then shifts to talking about her personal life, including her 30 year marriage where she made one complaint that all parents can relate to.
Love outweighs hard times
Stephen Colbert later pulls out a photo of his guest Michelle Obama and her husband, former President Barack Obama, on their wedding day. He explains there is a chapter in the book titled "Partnering Well," and that many people find their relationship to be "aspirational." Quoting her book, Colbert sets up his question "You write 'somehow, that reality is less glittery and shiny than it may appear.' Why was that important for you to share?"
Michelle answers, "I don't want our young people to quit when they are going through the natural process of building a life with another person which in and of itself is crazy hard. And then you add kids on, and you love your kids but they will mess up your marriage." The audience laughs. "They show up, they're greedy, they don't speak English, they don't follow rules. And you're really mad at them, but they're so cute. And you love them so, so you blame your partner."
Obama, who has been married for 30 years, suggests that love outweighs hard times. She exclaims, "You could go through ten bad years, and you would take those odds, right? So don't give up at the first sign of problems. Work on it."
Like most everything she says, you'll want to take Michelle Obama's latest words of wisdom to heart.