Raising teenagers is never easy — but the process was particularly daunting for Michelle Obama.
In her April 29 appearance on SiriusXM’s Let’sTalk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa podcast, the former First Lady opened up about the challenges of trying to give her daughters Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23, normal childhoods while their father, Barack Obama, was in the White House.
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“That was a lot of work,” she admitted, “and it got harder as they got older.”
Malia and Sasha were just 10 and 7, respectively, when Barack took office. But as they grew up, protecting them (and their reputations) became more difficult.
“They had to drive and they had to go to prom and they were on teams and they traveled to other schools and they had to do college searches, and they went to parties and they had drinks, and they tried out smoking and they did all the things,” Michelle said, adding, “and every weekend was a nightmare, because we had to work to make sure that them being regular teenagers didn’t wind up on Page Six.”
“When your kids are under the security of the Secret Service, you almost have to work twice as hard to make their life normal,” the 61-year-old continued. “Imagine setting up the first play date or the first time the kids get invited to a play date. The process of having my children at your house meant that an advanced team had to come and question and search your house and ask if you had drugs and guns.”
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Even though Malia and Sasha are all grown up now — and their dad is no longer president — they still have to deal with the pressures of fame.
“We call that the Obama tax for them,” Michelle joked. “You’ll have it the rest of your life, but you also have a lot of benefits.”
“I’m trying to make this feel normal to them, because you don’t want them to start thinking, number one, they’re full of themselves, that any of this is about them and that their job is to go about their lives,” she added. “This world is not about you. This is just your dad’s job.
According to People, Malia and Sasha currently live together in Los Angeles. Malia is an aspiring filmmaker, while Sasha graduated from the University of Southern California with an undergraduate degree in sociology in 2023.
Related: Malia Obama Turns Heads with Major Hairstyle Switch-Up
