Michelle Obama wed former President of the United States Barack Obama in 1992 when they were 28 and 31, but she has discussed why she doesn’t want her children to rush into marriage.
The former FLOTUS appeared on the Tamron Hall Show on Monday, and she opened up about her concerns about daughters Malia, 24, and Sasha, 21, bending to societal expectations about marriage and kids – which could lead to picking the wrong person.
In her candid confession, Michelle advised her children to “spend some time with themselves” and “build their happiness,” adding that that could be by focusing on their careers.
“Too many young people are rushing to check the box of marriage before they even know who they are, and then they’re surprised when they pick the wrong person, or they don’t know how to struggle through hard times.”
“I want my girls to spend some time with themselves to develop some skills to understand that they can make it with or without, that they can build their happiness with all the bells and whistles and they can be happy if they choose to only focus on their career, to never have kids. I want to make their worlds bigger for them,” the 58-year-old mother-of-two began.
“Happiness looks like a lot of different things,” she continued. “If we have chosen some alternative path, maybe getting married, maybe not, maybe never having kids, maybe focusing on careers, we feel somehow guilty about all those choices.”
Michelle said she wants to “break that cycle of those subtle expectations” and encourage young people to be whole by themselves.
Michelle and Barack have a sweet love story that started in 1989 when Michelle was a young associate at a Chicago law firm. After dating for three years, they tied the knot on 3 October 1992 at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago before hosting their wedding reception at the South Shore Cultural Centre.
Michelle was a beautiful bride in a traditional white gown with a Bardot neckline and long sleeves, while her bridesmaids – which included Barack’s sisters Maya and Auma – rocked gorgeous black dresses.
To celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary last month, they recreating their honeymoon along the California coast.
