Michelle Obama got candid about the hard work that comes with marriage in the latest episode of her podcast, IMO, after hitting back at divorce rumors.
The mother of two, who co-hosts the podcast with her brother, Craig Robinson, spoke to dating coach Logan Ury on Wednesday’s episode of the show, and delved into her 32-year marriage to former President Barack Obama.
Words of wisdom
“The building of relationships, the building part is important,” Michelle began. “And in this world where we want everything quick and fast and permanent, I overemphasize the hard work of building in a relationship that leads to lasting, meaningful love.”
“It is work,” she continued. “It is not instant. It is not perfect. And I think we have a lot of romanticizers out there who believe that a good marriage is always happy.”
To learn more about Michelle and Barack’s talented daughters, watch below…
She went into further detail in the caption accompanying the social media clip, explaining the work that a healthy marriage requires.
“Relationships take work—there’s no way around it,” the 61-year-old wrote. “Sure, lasting love can be beautiful and even feel effortless at times. But it’s got to be built on a foundation that can weather a little turbulence.”
© InstagramMichelle’s comment comes just a week after she sat down on the podcast with her husband, revealing that they almost gave up on their marriage at one point.
“There hasn’t been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting on my man,” she said. “And we’ve had some really hard times, and we have had a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures, and I have become a better person because of the man I’m married to.”
“Don’t make me cry now,” Barack interjected.
Split speculation
Michelle and Barack have weathered several months of speculation that their marriage had ended, beginning when Michelle opted not to attend a series of major events with her husband.
She skipped both former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral in January, and President Donald Trump’s inauguration weeks later, leaving many to wonder if the duo were headed for divorce.
“People couldn’t believe that I was saying no for any other reason; they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart,” she clarified on IMO.
© Getty Images“It took everything in my power to not do the thing that was perceived as right, but do the things that was right for me, that was a hard thing for me to do,” she continued.
Michelle added that she is practising the “art of saying no”.
Putting in the work
© InstagramThe couple, who share daughters Malia and Sasha, have been actively working on their marriage for years, as Michelle previously revealed on the podcast.
“The beauty of my husband and our partnership is that neither one of us was ever really, ever going to quit at it, because that’s not who we are. And I know that about him. He knows that about me,” she said. “I talk about these things because I think that people give up too quickly on marriage.”
She added: “There is so much friction built into the equation. And if you’re not getting help, talking about it, going to therapy, just understanding how things are changing, and how do you continuously renegotiate your relationship with your partner, I just see people quitting.”
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