Barack Obama Says He Was in a ‘Deep Deficit' with Wife Michelle After Presidency: ‘Been Trying to Dig Myself Out'
Barack Obama has a new reason to add fun things to his schedule.
During a conversation with Hamilton College President Steven Tepper on Thursday, April 3, the former president, 63, said he was 'in a deep deficit with my wife' after his two terms in the Oval Office ended, per The Daily Beast.
'So I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things,' Obama, who has been married to Michelle Obama since 1992, continued. Obama and Michelle, 61, have two daughters, Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23.
The Obamas have been open about the strain being in the White House put on their marriage in the past. In December 2022, Michelle said there was a decade during their relationship when 'she couldn't stand' her husband.
"People think I'm being catty by saying this — it's like, there were 10 years where I couldn't stand my husband," she said in a conversation with Revolt TV. "And guess when it happened? When those kids were little."
The Obamas lived in the White House from January 2009 to January 2017.
Related: Michelle Obama Says Barack Wanted a Third Child but She Wasn't on Board: 'We're Gonna Get a Crazy One'
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
In May 2023, when Obama was asked about those remarks on CBS Mornings, he replied, 'Let me just say this: it sure helps to be out of the White House. And to have a little more time with her."
'Michelle — when our girls were growing up, that was priority number one, two, three and four,' the former president continued. 'And so, I did not fully appreciate, I think, as engaged of a father as I was, the degree of stress and tension for her, knowing that not just me and Michelle were under scrutiny and in this strange environment, but that we were raising our daughters in a kind of situation that just wasn't normal."
Related: Barack Obama Photobombs Kids' D.C. Shoot, Leaves Sweet Online Comment to Them
In a 2018 conversation with PEOPLE around the release of her book Becoming, Michelle said she and her husband once saw a marriage counselor. 'There were definitely times when I wished things were different… but I don't think I ever thought, 'I'm just checking out of this,' ' Michelle said.
More recently, Michelle told her brother, Craig Robinson, in a talk at SXSW how she and Obama have stayed 'sane' amid the gossip and rumors they faced during his time in office and since leaving the White House.
'Through it all, what kept us sane — and we tried to instill this in our daughters — is, you cannot live through social media,' she said in March. 'I don't think I have ever once looked at a comment section, period.'
Read the original article on People
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
12 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
‘Are you from California?' Political advisor said he was detained at airport after confirming he's from L.A.
Veteran Los Angeles political consultant Rick Taylor said he was pulled aside by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents while returning from a trip abroad, asked if he was from California and then separated from his family and put in a holding room with several Latino travelers for nearly an hour. 'I know how the system works and have pretty good connections and I was still freaking out,' said Taylor, 71. 'I could only imagine how I would be feeling if I didn't understand the language and I didn't know anyone.' Taylor said he was at a loss to explain why he was singled out for extra questioning, but he speculated that perhaps it was because of the Obama-Biden T-shirt packed in his suitcase. Taylor was returning from a weeklong vacation in Turks and Caicos with his wife and daughter, who were in a separate customs line, when a CBP agent asked, 'Are you from California?' He said he answered, 'Yeah, I live in Los Angeles.' The man who ran campaigns for L.A.'s last Republican mayor and for current Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla when he was a budding Los Angeles City Council candidate in the 1990s found himself escorted to a waiting room and separated from his family. There, Taylor said he waited 45 minutes without being released, alleging he was unjustly marked for detention and intimidated by CBP agents. 'I have no idea why I was targeted,' said Taylor, a consultant with the campaign to reelect L.A. City Councilwoman Traci Park. 'They don't talk to you. They don't give you a reason. You're just left confused, angry and worried.' The story was first reported by Westside Current. Former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said the incident brought to mind Sen. Alex Padilla, who was arrested and handcuffed June 12 while trying to ask a question during a Los Angeles press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. 'My former chief of staff and political consultant, Rick Taylor, was detained at Miami International Airport by federal authorities after returning from an international vacation,' he said in an email. 'As Senator Alex Padilla said a couple of weeks ago, 'if it could happen to me, it could happen to anyone.' This Federal government operation is OUT OF CONTROL! Where will it end?!' A representative from the Customs and Border Protection in Florida said an inquiry made by the Los Angeles Times and received late Friday afternoon will likely be answered next week. 'If Mr. Taylor feels the need to, he is more than welcome to file a complaint online on our website and someone will reach out to him to try and get to the bottom of things,' CBP Public Affairs Specialist Alan Regalado said in an email. Taylor, a partner at Dakota Communications, a strategic communications and marketing firm, said he was more concerned about traveling and returning to the U.S. with his wife, a U.S. citizen and native of Vietnam. He said he reached out to a Trump administration member before leaving on vacation, asking if he could contact that individual in case his wife was detained. The family flew American Airlines and landed in Miami on June 20, where he planned to visit friends before returning to Los Angeles on Tuesday. In a twist, Taylor's wife and daughter, both Global Entry cardholders, breezed through security while Taylor, who does not have Global Entry, was detained, he said. He said after the agent confirmed he was a Los Angeles resident, he placed a small orange tag on his passport and was told to follow a green line. That led him to another agent and his eventual holding room. Taylor described '95% of the population' inside the room as Latino and largely Spanish-speaking. 'I was one of three white dudes in the room,' he said. 'I just kept wondering, 'What I am doing here?'' He said the lack of communication was 'very intimidating,' though he was allowed to keep his phone and did send text message updates to his family. 'I have traveled a fair amount internationally and have never been pulled aside,' he said. About 45 minutes into his holding, Taylor said an agent asked him to collect his luggage and hand it over for inspection. He said he was released shortly after. 'The agents have succeeded in making me reassess travel,' Taylor said. 'I would tell others to really think twice about traveling internationally while you have this administration in charge.'
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
U.S. to end TPS for Haitians on Sept. 2; Florida to feel brunt of Trump crackdown
Florida will feel the brunt of the June 27 Trump administration order to revoke Temporary Protected Status for half a million Haitians living in the United States as of Sept. 2, leaving them undocumented and at risk of deportation. Over 128,000 Haitians with TPS live in Florida and have jobs in health care, hospitality, agriculture and construction, industries already facing steep labor shortages. The Department of Homeland Security announced on June 27 that the current TPS designation for Haiti set to end on Aug. 3 will officially be terminated on Tuesday, Sept. 2. DHS argued conditions in Haiti had improved and no longer met the conditions to grant Temporary Protected Status, which allows people from specific countries to live and work in the United States and avoid deportation. Long troubled by poverty, political corruption and violence, Haiti is going though one of its worst moments of unrest, with gangs controlling many of the areas in the capital Port Au Prince. Most Haitians in the United States say they don't have a safe place to return to if they have to go back to the Caribbean nation, which is 750 miles from Miami. 'They are hopeless': Haitian immigrants face deportation to violence, poverty they fled Temporary Protected Status is a humanitarian designation given to people from specific countries that are suffering from armed conflict, a natural disaster or other "extraordinary and temporary" conditions that make returning home unsafe. President Barack Obama extended it to thousands of Haitians in the wake of the 2010 earthquake. It allows people covered by it to live and work in the United States, but they are not considered permanent residents, nor do they have a pathway either to permanent residency or citizenship. In order to obtain TPS, immigrants must pass a full background check and they may not have any previous felony convictions or two or more misdemeanors. Having Temporary Protected Status allows people to get a driver's license and receive a Social Security number, a requirement to work legally in the United States, and to file taxes, but they do not have access to any federal public benefits, including Social Security benefits. The designation prevents people from being deported to their native countries. About one-third of all 1.1 million TPS holders live in Florida, of which 59% are Venezuelan and 35% are Haitians, according to a 2024 report by the federal government. Many Haitian TPS holders have lived in the Sunshine State for over a decade. They have jobs as nurses in hospitals and in senior living facilities; as cooks servers and cleaning staff in restaurants in hotels; as farm workers in the fields; and as day laborer in construction sites. Many of them are now parents to U.S.-born children. Some are homeowners and others run small businesses. According to the DHS order, all 500,000 Haitians with TPS living in the United States would loose their legal status and their ability to work. Without TPS, they can also be deported to Haiti. The decision is the latest blow from the Trump administration to Haitians living in the United States. On May 30, DHS moved to end a humanitarian parole program for half a million immigrants including 210,000 Haitians. Parole is granted to people dealing with persecution or family or medical emergencies. They need a sponsor in the United States who can support them financially. This month, Trump announced a travel ban to and from Haiti, along with several other nations. Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, Palm Springs and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@ and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: U.S. to end TPS for Haitians on Sept. 2; More than 128,000 affected
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sean 'Diddy' Combs, son Justin Combs hit with gang-rape lawsuit
A woman has filed a complaint against Sean "Diddy" Combs' son Justin Combs, alleging she was "gang-raped" by Diddy and two other men during a trip to Los Angeles. Tyreke Conerly claims Justin Combs contacted her through Snapchat in March or April 2017, requesting "risque" photos, which she sent. She says Combs, 31, offered to fly the New Orleans resident to LA for a weekend, and promised he could get her a job at Revolt TV, a network his father founded. Instead, Conerly claims she was drugged, "literally held prisoner for a weekend" and "repeatedly raped" by three masked men, including the elder Combs. USA TODAY has reached out to Combs' team for comment. The lawsuit comes amid closing arguments in Combs' federal sex-crimes trial, a closely watched affair attended regularly by many of Combs' children, including Justin. Who are Sean 'Diddy' Combs' kids? These family members attended his sex-crimes trial In the complaint, filed by Tony Buzbee, who is representing a host of other alleged victims accusing Combs of assault, the lawyer claims the music mogul's "penchant for sexual violence is shared by his son." Drawing on an alleged "long history of violence," Buzbee argues that Conerly's story notches cleanly into an established pattern of sexual and physical abuse, allowed for by an unassailable power and influence across industries. Diddy trial updates: Sean Combs' attorney says case is about 'love,' 'jealousy' In the complaint, Conerly alleges she was flown out by Justin Combs to Los Angeles in April 2017, following through on a desire to break into the entertainment industry. After being picked up by a black SUV, she was allegedly taken to a "palatial" venue the younger Combs called "The Glass House." They stayed in the home for two days, and when she asked if they would leave, Justin responded: "No," according to the filing. Diddy trial closing arguments: 'Inner circle, money and influence' concealed crimes After the two consumed several unidentified drugs, according to the complaint, three men in masks entered the home – two who were unrecognizable and one who she understood to be Sean Combs after Justin called him "Pops." Then, she alleges, she was taken to a room where the men took turns raping her both orally and anally after being told: "You better let this happen. Or else." Surviving abuse: Cassie Ventura Fine and the unlikely bond with her mother-in-law The assault continued for over 24 hours, the complaint alleges, after which Conerly was driven back to the airport. Both the possibility of the job – which she never got – and of the unsanctioned release of her intimate photos were held over her head by Justin Combs, she alleges. Buzbee, on Conerly's behalf, is demanding a jury trial and damages. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diddy, son Justin Combs hit with lawsuit amid trial
